Jo-Dee Petre's Obituary
Born the second child of seven to Glenna Marie Luck and Eddie Bernard Butler on October 26, 1940, in Denison, Texas. The family moved to East 25th street in Oakland California, where she attended Oakland High School. She married Lloyd William Gaines a Petty Officer who served in the US Navy. With Lloyd, they had 6 children together and traveled around the Pacific. They spent several years in Alaska and Taipei, Taiwan before returning to Oakland.Jo-Dee lived in many places in Oakland; 66th ave area, 86th ave area, 74th ave area near Eastmont Mall, and Stonehurst where she met and married George Petre and had one more child by him. She later moved to Dag, then Brookfield, and finally to Sobrante Park. Around 1980, she met and married Freddie Lee Williamson. All three husbands, Lloyd, George, and Freddie, preceded her in death.Jo-Dee was a homemaker who loved to read, sew, and do arts n crafts. She enjoyed playing cards and board games including, Dominoes, Yahtzee, Kismet, Rummy-O, and especially Bingo. She was an avid crossword, and word search person always having a readily available book in her purse. She also loved going camping to fish and hunt and going to Reno and Las Vegas to play in the casinos. She was an excellent cook who could cook anything from wild game to exotic Chinese. During her time in Sobrante, Jo-Dee began to suffer from arthritis and numerous other illnesses that kept her bedridden much of the time. Yet, she did not let it stop her from enjoying life, when able, she did the things she loved to do. After her youngest child left the nest, she moved to Union City to take care of her stepfather Otis Foster known as Daddy-O. There she made the most of her life, riding her scooter to the mall and going to Chili’s with her friends. Sometime later, she and Daddy-O left Union City and moved to Stockton.Two years ago, in January 2016, she became very ill in Stockton and was brought back to Oakland to be near her family. Thanks to the care from Kindred and San Leandro long-term nursing homes and to the many visitations, prayers, and encouragement, she made a huge come back, able to walk with just a cane for a time. In July of 2016, she moved to Landmark Villa, Senior Residential & Assisted Living. Landmark provided all the things she loved, a close set of social friends, a library with books she had not read, arts n craft time, board game time, and of course bingo twice a week. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2017, and then later in the fall of 2017, told that her cancer metastasized to her brain, she stated, “if I am going to go, I want to go at home.” Home was Landmark Villa were she passed on Friday, February 23rd surrounded by family and friends.Jo-Dee Petre is survived by her children: Mark Anthony Gaines, Sonja Gaines-Benton, Steven Gaines, Rena Gaines-Page, Rick Gaines, Aaron Gaines, and Jojuana Petre; stepfather: Otis Foster; brothers: Bernard, Jerry, Paul, Everett, and Harold Butler; sisters: Debra Butler-Scott; Charnetta Dozier; and her Beloved friend/Honorable Sister/Bestie of Besties Alice Simon; grandchildren: Jasmine Cummins; Gray and Terry Shine; Passhawn Petre, Ernest Smith; Stephon Lee; Jasira Gordon; Jamila Smith; Stephanie, Irma, and Jaychala Malone; Richette, Littel, Ricky, and Ricco Gaines; three Great grandchildren: Tiana Gaines; Elijah and Shaheed Shine; and a vast number of uncles, aunties, cousins, nieces and nephews…plus.
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