Obituary of Shirley Jo Hott

Shirley Jo (Keener) Hott, 78, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away in the early morning hours of Thursday, February 1, 2018, at the home of Keith Carr and his wife, Carolyn in Morgantown.

Jo was born in Braxton County, West Virginia, on February 12, 1939, the ninth child of the late Terry Blaine Keener and Susie (Kyer) Keener.

Jo is the wife of Gerald A. “Jerry” Hott of Gaithersburg, Maryland.  She and her husband were longtime members of the Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church.  They had resided in Gaithersburg since moving from Rush, New York, in 1966.  During their time in Rush, Jo had been employed by Dr. Birschbach, the Women’s Bank, and later by the Asbury Methodist Village of Gaithersburg.  Jerry and Jo were members of the VIPS group (Very Important Presbyterian Seniors) at GPC. 

She first met Jerry at Jim’s Restaurant in downtown Huntington, West Virginia, where they both had breakfast.  At the time, Jerry was employed as a Signal Engineer by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and Jo was employed by a publishing company in downtown Huntington.  When Jo and Jerry were dating, Jo considered some dates as unusual such as visiting C& O Raceland car shops in Kentucky and the Huntington Camera Club.

When Jerry accepted a job offer at General Railway Signal Company of Rochester, New York, he popped the question to Jo and she accepted.  They were married in Huntington, West Virginia, and honeymooned in Ohio on their way to the new job at Rochester, New York.

Jo is survived by her husband, Jerry Hott, brother-in-law Criss Carr, Jr., Keith Carr and his wife, Carolyn, Melvin Carr and wife, Marty, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents and eight siblings.

Family and friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home on Saturday, February 3, 2018, from 2:00 PM until the time of service at 3:00 PM with Reverend Timothy Allen officiating.  Interment will follow at a later date.