Joanne Rutledge

Joanne Rutledge was born to Barbara J. Rutledge and James Rutledge, Sr in Dayton, Ohio. She was educated in Dayton Public Schools, graduating from Fairview High School in 1975 where she played volleyball and basketball. She attended college on a Reserves Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Correction and Confinement from Eastern Kentucky University. Joanne went on to become a well-respected and dedicated leader in the U.S. Army Corps and her career took her to assignments around the world. She truly cared about the people and facilities she was entrusted to protect. Joanne’s key command and staff assignments included: Operations Staff Officer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans at the Pentagon; Brigade Training Officer with the 14th Military Police Brigade in Manheim, Germany; Special Review Board member; U.S. Army Military District of Washington; Department of the Army Support Activity, Pentagon, Virginia; Systems Automation Staff Officer; Personnel Information Systems Command, Alexandria, Virginia; Assistant Protocol Officer, U.S. Army Western Command Activity, Ft. Safter, Hawaii; and Company Commander, Military Police Activity, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Joanne retired at the rank of Major with her last duty assignment as the Chief, Security and Law Enforcement for the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio. She then diligently served as the Division Security Manager, as a U.S. Army Civilian, until the time of her passing. Joanne was a devoted mother, grandmother, and a strong woman of God. She ministered Sunday School at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. She was also an attendee of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Joanne’s faith and knowledge was key to assisting many people. She was the person people could always call on when they needed spiritual guidance and prayers. Joanne had a riveting smile, vibrant sense of humor, and the innate ability to comfort hearts and heal minds of everyone she encountered. Joanne was preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents; brothers, James and Robert Rutledge, and her dear mother, Barbara Jean. She is survived by her daughter, Michaelle Joanna Dewberry; grandson, Aiden Stewart; father, James Rutledge Sr. (Willa); brother, Terry Rutledge; sisters, Belinda Brown (Gregory), Corinthia Buchanan and Tonya Rutledge; nephews, James Jones and Terry Rutledge Jr; nieces Terri Bivens (Anthony), Alexis Brown, Jasmine Brown, Terriyona Rutledge; uncle Charles Roberts (Belle); aunts Gwendolyn Adams Kyles, Marilyn Hill, and Sytharae Thomas (Joseph); dear friends, Valerie Hummons, Rita Littlejohn, Alvesta Lobban, Tania Ricks, Jackie Tate, and Reggie Davis; and a host of relatives and friends.

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