Joanna Perryman Montgomery

 Joanna Grace Perryman Montgomery was born on August 27, 1930, in Durant, Oklahoma to Neal and Bertie Perryman. She died on December 27, 2024, in Angleton, Texas.

The third of five children, Joanna played in the creek with her brothers, secretly borrowed her older sister’s sweater and had no idea that her family struggled during the depths of the Great Depression. Her father, known as Cowboy Perryman, was a car salesman and often received a house in exchange for a car so that a family could migrate west during the worst of the Dust Bowl. Thus, Joanna and her family often moved from one house to another house.

In 1944, her family moved to Borger, Texas, where her father built a beautiful house on a hill. He proudly hung green shutters with the family initial carved in them. It was with horror that the teenage Joanna discovered that the boys in her class knew her house as the one with “P” on the shutters.

On July 4, 1950, John Montgomery asked her if she wanted to go for a ride on his motorcycle. She refused saying, “You’ll scare me.” He promised he would take care of her and never scare her. Four months later, they married and he kept his promise to keep her safe for almost 53 years.

Shortly after their son, Dennis, was born, they moved to Odessa where their son, Stanley, and daughter, Patricia, were born. In 1965, the family moved to Angleton. John and Joanna enjoyed going to Dennis’ baseball games and Stanley’s concerts and making sure that Pat had all the books she wanted. Then, once the grandchildren arrived, they got to do it all over again. 

John and Joanna made sure that God and the church remained the center of their lives. They understood the importance of fellowship and their home was the site of many teen devotionals and the annual teenager and “young at heart” church party. In between those activities were many after-church evenings of dominos.

In 1998, Joanna’s heart was broken when Dennis died of melanoma. Five years later, it was broken all over again when John died. After his death, Joanna wrote some friends, “I’ll hold him in my heart until I can hold him in my arms again.”

Joanna leaves behind a legacy of service to God and love for her family.

She is survived by her son Stanley Montgomery and his wife Sandra, her daughter-in-law, Paula Montgomery, and her daughter Patricia Walker and her husband Bill. In addition, she is survived by her grandchildren: Tonya Reyes (Victor), Shawna Greenville (Michael), Kimberly Horton (Leroy), Matthew Walker (Ashley), Daniel Montgomery and Matthew Montgomery (Alanna) and ten great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law Bernice Sevier and Nita Perryman Brackeen.

A time of visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 31 from 11:30 until 1:30 at Palms Funeral Home. Graveside services will be held later that day at the Angleton Cemetery at 2:00. Her grandsons and great-grandsons will serve as pallbearers.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23: 5-6)

Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.palmsfuneralhome.com