Jo Lynn Liebermann of Cicero, Illinois, passed away August 12, 2022 at the age of 83 and one day.

She was born Jo Lynn Gunther on August 11, 1939 in Baltimore, Maryland, the first child of William E. Gunther and Geneva G. Gunther.  At the age of 3, the family relocated to Akron, Ohio with her little brother William, age 2.  A second brother, Thomas, joined the family in 1945 in Akron.

Jo, as she was known to all of her friends, graduated from Akron’s Buchtel High School in 1957 and immediately began her life-long experiment with education.  She entered Kent State University where she excelled in every subject she took including the Greek language, math and psychology.   Learning was always important to Jo, and she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Kent State University and completed all the coursework for a Ph.D.  In 1962, she married Seymour Liebermann in Cleveland, Ohio and they welcomed Hinda Marie Liebermann, a special needs daughter, into the family in 1963.

Jo had several passions that she was proud of, and that defined her life. She supported the civil rights movement beginning in the 1960’s, ensured a rich and full life for her daughter, and worked to help disadvantaged students achieve educational success.

She began working in education at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland and, finding better opportunities for Hinda in the Chicago area, moved to Harold Washington College. There she was a researcher, program developer, and administrator, and developed a very effective 'School within a School' Program to increase the number of students able to pass the College Placement Exam and transition from Remedial Reading to College-credit classwork. She added a focus on foundational knowledge in English, Math, History, and Science, and embedded an emphasis on Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum. In Institutional Research, she helped track and measure success rates of minority transfer students to four-year colleges and universities, and wrote and won grants to support the program. She believed all students should be able to access a higher education that would be pleasurable, workable, and meaningful.

  She was a warm, friendly, and unassuming person available to support students whether they needed practical help cutting through bureaucratic snags, or when they were trying to cope with academic or personal problems. She used her deep understanding of academic thought in many fields to engage both faculty and administrators, to resolve problems that affected them and students. Jo especially believed that gaining knowledge and understanding was an inherently enjoyable and valuable pursuit that everyone could appreciate and benefit from.  

Jo was devoted to Hinda and to the idea the Hinda could have a full life and a range of social activities.  She taught her to read using the Harry Potter Series of books in a group setting, enrolled her in a group home to make sure Hinda would have the life-long opportunities for activities including art classes, theater performances, exercise, and sheltered workshops.  Finding the best options for Hinda’s enrichment and long term care at Oak-Leyden Developmental Services in Chicago, she organized a group of parents of developmentally disabled clients to advocate for their children.  And although Jo was divorced in 1974, she continued to involve Seymour in Hinda’s life until he passed away in 2017 at the age of 87.

Jo was an unusual woman with a strong set of academic values and a real drive to learn how to improve education for everyone. She  was always happy,  loved to laugh and gather with friends in Cicero, loved to read and discuss almost anything with anybody, often keeping you up way past your bedtime.

She is survived by her daughter, Hinda, her brothers William D. and Thomas M. Gunther, and nieces Kristy, Jennifer, Jessica and nephews Brad and Michael, and seven grand nephews and nieces scattered across the country.