February 21, 1960 ~ July 4, 2022
On Monday, July 4, 2022, JoAnn Velayo, loving wife, proud mother, aunt, and friend passed away at the age of 62.
JoAnn was born February 21, 1960, in San Jose, California to Clyde and Elizabeth (Betty) Hodges. As her father was involved in highway construction, she moved and lived in many small towns in Northern California until the family settled in Newport, Oregon. There, she finished elementary school and graduated from Newport High School.
After high school she went on to Oregon State University. While in the dorm her freshman year, she met her eventual soul partner and spouse, Rick Velayo, in 1978. They dated for the balance of their college years together and even graduated with degrees in Finance. After college, they lived in New York City, Los Angeles, until finally settling in the Bay Area in 1984, where she spent many summers with her sister, nieces, and nephews. There she started a long, tenured career with SRI International, where she loyally stayed for 38 years. They were married in 1986 and eventually had their son Aaron in 1996.
At home, JoAnn enjoyed her evening walks with her son, gardening, cooking, and fine wine. She loved her pets very much, Including the previous family Golden Retrievers Shas- ta, McKinley, and Kona, in addition to the first family cat Cinder. She was an avid fan of the Bay Area sports teams, especially the Golden State Warriors. She was thrilled when the Warriors made it into the playoffs and would have loved to have seen them when they won the NBA Championship. When possible, Rick and JoAnn would find time to see a Giants or a 49er game.
Music was a major part of her life. When their son Aaron showed a talent for music and drumming, they made a huge effort to expose him to as many concerts and types of music as possible. Going to 10 or more concerts and music events a year was not uncommon. In recent years, she was a regular attendee at the Bottlerock and the Outside Lands Music Festivals in Napa and in San Francisco with her friend Andi.
But one of her main joys was traveling. She enjoyed trips to the Philippines, Rick’s birth country, Alaska, and Caribbean cruises, and driving trips around California and Oregon. She especially liked going to Disneyland, where she was last able to go in December 2021 with many family members. Rick and JoAnn enjoyed a 2-week guided tour in the fall of 2021 traveling to numerous National Parks.
She is survived by her husband Rick, who she was married to for 36 years, son Aaron, sister Jane, brother Joe (Jacquie), in addition to numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was definitely a favorite of the entire family. Additionally, the current cats CJ and Ringo miss her very much.
A Celebration of Life will be held with date and time forthcoming.