Former Johnson and Sheridan County resident JoAnne Panetta Wilson, 72, died Monday, Oct. 27, 2008 in Tri-Cities Chaplaincy in Kennewick, Wash., according to her family.

A celebration of life was Nov. 1 in Kennewick.

Born Nov. 11, 1935, to Joseph and Veronica “Fron” Panetta, she was raised in Sheridan. She attended Holy Name School, graduated from Sheridan High School in 1954, and shortly after married Leonard Bell.

She worked at Panetta Bros. food wholesale operation, then for Dr. Oscar Rojo before she found what family called “her career passion” working for Ed Niehay at KROE Radio.

She went on to work for radio stations in Montana and Anchorage, Alaska, with Country KYAK, where she became the first woman advertising manager of a station over 50,000 watts in the United States. She was later a sales rep in Seattle for soft rock KIXI.

She married William T. Wilson in 1983. They moved to the Tri-Cities area.

During retirement, she enjoyed bridge, gardening, cooking, golf and was especially proud of her hole-in-one.

She was a lifelong Roman Catholic.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Jimmy Panetta.

Survivors include her husband; her mother of Sheridan; a son, Charles of Covington, Wash.; a daughter, Cynthia Bell Stark of Anchorage; four stepchildren, Carol, Christy, Patty and Bill, all of Washington state; a sister, Judi, and brother, Joie Panetta, of Sheridan; a second sister, Joyce of Maryland; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

The Sheridan Press - November 6, 2008.