JoAnn Eramo 1935 - 2025

JoAnn Eramo’s amazing life peacefully ended on December 26, 2025. It began on May 27, 1935, in Springfield, Illinois, the only child of Nellie Jean (Martin) and Harold Pulliam. When her mother needed to move to a dry climate, JoAnn stayed to finish her Senior year, living with her aunt, Beatrice (Martin) Hamilton. Later, after a brief marriage, JoAnn and her daughter returned to her mother’s home near Mesa, Arizona. This is where she met Gerard W Mitchell, father of two, whom she married and had five children. He died 17 years later.

Perhaps the biggest adventure of JoAnn’s life was packing their belongings into a big truck, with camping gear in the station wagon, and moving, while seven months pregnant, from Roswell, New Mexico, to Oregon, in 1962. They soon found a farm in Yamhill, and JoAnn put down roots, joining the Altar Society of St. John Catholic Church, becoming a Brownie leader, room mother, and PTA president for Yamhill Grade School, winning an award for largest membership in the state.

JoAnn was known for her sewing skills after she sewed dresses for the school choir and later created Eliza’s ball gown for the high school production of "My Fair Lady." Her daughters looked forward to new Christmas nightgowns and Easter dresses, too.

Also known for her cooking, JoAnn’s canned and baked goods appeared at county and state fairs, earning several awards, most notably one from the Oregon Wheat Commission for best pies in the state. Her fudge always sold out at bake sales and bazaars, too.

When asked what they learned from their mom, her children all had the same answer: “Self-sufficiency and knowing we could do or be anything! We can sew, preserve food, garden, run a household, and even drive a stick shift.”

Not long after finding herself a widow with six kids, JoAnn met Salvatore P. Eramo Sr., and married him in 1976, completing their family with an even dozen kids. JoAnn became even more involved in the community, becoming a bus driver so the kids in Yamhill and Carlton had a ride to St. James Catholic School in McMinnville. While Sal greeted parishioners at Mass, JoAnn arranged for coffee and doughnuts afterward. She worked tirelessly for the food pantry, and volunteered to provide free lunch once a week in Carlton. This led to her volunteering at St. Barnabas in McMinnville. She couldn’t stand the idea of someone going hungry!

Later, as an empty nester, JoAnn worked at Rainbow Lodge, a residential school in McMinnville. Soon, boys would be coming to spend a weekend at the farm. Sal and JoAnn realized they weren’t done being parents, and started fostering. The next 15 years saw over 100 kids living at the farm! They were also known for inviting folks to dinner with many “extra” guests at the long Thanksgiving table, celebrating with love and gratitude.

Besides community members and foster kids, JoAnn’s legacy includes her 12 children; 29 grandkids; 44 great-grandkids; and nine great-great-grandkids. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Gerard Mitchell and Sal Eramo; son, Mike Mitchell; daughter, Stacy Lasslet; and three grandchildren.

A funeral Mass for JoAnn Eramo will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, January 2, 2026, at 11:00 at St. John Catholic Church in Yamhill. The rosary will be at 10:30.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Barnabas or to Operation Smile.