Mary Jo Hoes

On Thursday, October 20, 2022, Mary Jo Hoes, loving partner and mother, passed away at age 73 following a brave, but brief, fight against cancer.  Mary Jo will be remembered by those who knew her as a kind person who always treated everyone with love, respect and patience regardless of their condition in life. Her warm smile and welcoming attitude had a way of making everyone feel like an immediate and lasting friend.

Mary Jo was born to Dora and Donald G. Anderson on January 24, 1949 in Auburn, CA but soon moved with her family to Davis. At the time, her family’s home was located out in the country amidst the tomato fields with dirt roads.  She enjoyed riding horses, raising sheep and was an active member of the local 4-H club. Mary Jo’s parents owned and operated Davis Lumber & Hardware Company.  She grew up as a “hardware store girl” with a lifelong love of tools and high-quality merchandise.  

When Mary Jo moved to Humboldt County to attend college, she loved spending her weekends and summers helping her grandparents on the family sheep and cattle ranch in Petrolia, CA. Mary Jo graduated from Humboldt State College in 1972 with a B.A. degree in art, specializing in non-functional ceramic art.  Following graduation, she received a scholarship to attend Penland School of Craft in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Mary Jo met her husband, Charlie, in a popular college hangout in Arcata while she did her laundry in the laundromat next door. He soon became very familiar with her laundry schedule. The couple were married in Davis in 1974.  Their family eventually settled in the rural community of Zamora where she continued to enjoy raising animals and working with her hands. An avid gardener and natural artist, she was instrumental in cultivating not only a loving home, but a beautiful one as well. 

Mary Jo enjoyed a love of home and community, but also thoroughly enjoyed the “fun” of new experiences. Mary Jo was a passionate reader who loved outdoor adventures and travel. She was always eager to learn about, and experience, new people and places. She enjoyed visiting with family and friends and hearing about others’ experiences and projects they were working on.

Mary Jo was an “activist” in the community supporting the local 4-H club and volunteer fire department, fighting the proposed creation of a prison in the area, helping to create the new Yolo Branch Library and working to preserve the beauty of the community. She was always eager to support, celebrate and connect with her neighbors.  If something “was up” in the area, she was often the first person to contact to find out details and organize a response.  While she never wanted to be the leader of any of these activities, she was the one that people gathered around.  She was actively involved in the 2010 Yolo County census, finding her way into the little nooks and crannies of the county that are known by very few local residents.

Mary Jo is best known for her kindness to, and acceptance of, others – always reaching out to help, always letting others go first just in case there might not be enough for everyone.  She was always generous with her money, her time, her attention and her love – giving without a thought or desire for recognition or honor, preferring to do so in a gentle and anonymous way. 

Mary Jo loved and supported her family and grandsons whole heartedly. She was a fixture at every sporting event and a quiet cheerleader for every activity they participated in. She loved watching her grandsons play, learn and expand their talents. She was known for sewing the best costumes and being the first person in the audience.

Mary Jo will be greatly missed by her family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Charlie; by her son, Kevin Hoes; and his children, Hayden and Keegan; by her daughter, Anna Fricke and her husband Brendon; and their children, Cole and Reid. Other survivors include her sister, Jennifer Anderson-Fleeman and husband Doby; nephew, Andrew, and niece, Alina; sister-in-law, Stacia Derickson, nephews, Jim Derickson (Joni), Jess Derickson (Brenda), Mark Derickson (Chrissy), Matthew Derickson, Nils Derickson (Stacy), Michael Hoes, Jr., John Meriweather, and niece, Laurel Chamness (Stan). She is preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Dora Anderson, brother-in-laws, William Derickson and Michael Hoes, and nephews, Jon Derickson and Peter Hoes.

A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 19th, at 11:00am at the Taber Ranch Vineyard & Event Center (16628 County Road 81, Capay CA).  In lieu of giving flowers, the family asks that those who are able instead make a donation to the campaign to support the new Yolo Branch Library (yolobranchlibraryfriends@gmail.com) ,  Zamora 4-H Boosters or a charity of your choice.