SPRINGFIELD – Jo-Anne A. Houldson, 72, of Baystate Place at 414 Chestnut Street, Springfield was Called Safely Home on Monday, September 23, 2013. She was born in the Borough of Queens in New York on January 8, 1941, a beloved daughter of the late Clyde J. and Mary E. (Blackmer) Houldson. She was raised and schooled in Queens, New York and lived in the city for many years before moving to Springfield in 2003. She served her country in the United States Army during the Vietnam War and attained the rank of Specialist 5th Grade. During her military service, she was a stenographer serving her country at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Following her military service, she returned to New York where she was employed for over 21 years as a secretary for the Wyeth Drug Company and retired in 1997. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her loving brother, George C. Houldson who was Called Home on August 21, 2003. She leaves her loving sister-in-law, Nancy A. Houldson of Chicopee; her cherished nephews, Robert C. Houldson and his wife, Lisa, and William G. Houldson and his wife, Belinda, all of Springfield; her cherished niece, Kristen A. Rief Konieczny and her husband, Stanley Konieczny, of West Springfield; her cherished grandnephew, Conor; her cherished grandnieces, Baylee, Erin, Carli, McKenna, and Gracie; and several dear cousins. Her funeral will be held on Friday morning, September 27, 2013 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Springfield Chapels, (413-737-1177), 7 Chapin Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107, (funeral home will open at 10:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 12:30 p.m. at Mary, Mother of Hope Church, 840 Page Boulevard, East Springfield, MA 01104. Her Committal Service with US Army Military Honors will follow the Mass at 2 p.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Her family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday morning, September 27, 2013 from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. before the Mass. Her family has requested that memorial donations be made in her memory to the Shriners Hospital for Children, (Specify Springfield), 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104. For more details and to sign our funeral home guest book, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com