Mary Jo "Jody" Mabbatt, 86, of Jacksonville, IL, died Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, at Scott County Nursing Center in Winchester.

She was born June 5, 1937, in Farmington, the daughter of Frank and Charlotte (Fennell) Elmore. She had been married to Richard Mabbatt, and they later divorced.

She is survived by her stepson, Kenneth D. Mabbatt (wife, Kitty) of Seattle, WA; two grandchildren, Grace Mabbatt and Joe Mabbatt; and many special friends across the United States including Melissa Mueller, Kelly Carter, and her neighbors, Ben, Amanda, Kaleb and Korbin Kluge.

Jody was the valedictorian of her 1955 graduating class of Farmington High School and later attended Lake Forest College. She began working in the reservation office for United Airlines in Chicago for several years and then at the Crate and Barrel original store in Chicago for ten years. While at Crate and Barrel, she designed store displays and assisted with opening multiple stores and had appeared on the cover of the first Crate and Barrel catalog. She later had an interior decorating business in San Fransisco and Las Vegas, where she had done work for Liberace. She then worked for several retail stores before returning to Jacksonville to care for her mother. She worked for Farmers State Bank in Jacksonville in the trust department, retiring in 2020. She also was a volunteer for Passavant Area Hospital.

Jody enjoyed spending her time visiting with her friends from all over the country on the telephone, going to the library and reading, listening to jazz music which many of the musicians were personal friends, going on walks to visit with her neighbors and passing out treats to the neighborhood dogs and feeding her birds, squirrels and rabbits. Jody was a friend to anyone she met.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Jacksonville from 12pm – 2pm, with a toast to Jody at 1pm. Memorial gifts are suggested to Prairie Council on Aging. The Buchanan & Cody Funeral Home in Jacksonville is assisting the family. Condolences may be sent online at buchanancody.com.