Jo "Di" Anna Fouch

Jo Anna "Jodi"  Fouch, 76, of St. Albans and formerly of Petersburg, passed away Dec. 24, 2023, at her home.

She was born Feb. 15, 1947, in Charleston, grew up in Arthurdale and was the daughter of the late Ray E. Gray and Eva M. Legg.

Mrs. Fouch graduated from Masontown High School and beauty school in Morgantown. She worked as a beautician at The Beauty Corner in Petersburg before joining the staff of the Grant County Press newspaper with her husband, William E. Fouch, to whom she was married for 48 years until his death in 2016. Mr. Fouch was editor and Mrs. Fouch became advertising manager and wrote a weekly recipe column called Stir Crazy for nearly 30 years, winning the 1993 First Place award for Best Columnist from the West Virginia Press Association, along with several awards for advertising layout and design. She ran the newspaper after her husband’s death.

She was active in the community and worked with her husband for years on the “Warm the Children” and “Toys for Happiness” campaigns, providing toys and clothes to countless children in need. She was a member and eventually president of the Grant Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, led the effort to purchase Christmas lights for the town of Petersburg and also worked with the Head Start preschool program.       

She is survived by her two sons, Robert L. Fouch and daughter-in-law Geovanny, of Valley Stream, N.Y., and Todd A. Fouch and daughter-in-law Heather, of Nitro; six grandchildren, Richard Feliciano, Isaac Fouch, Tierra Fouch, Tyler Fouch, Ashlee Fouch and Abigail Fouch; sister Rae Jean Slesinger and brother Daniel Gray.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm Friday, December 29, 2023 at Bartlett-Nichols Funeral Home, St. Albans. Inurnment in Petersburg will be a private service at a later date.

The family suggests memorial donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105, www.stjude.org

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Jo Anna "Jodi" (Gray) Fouch, please visit our Tree Store.