Obituary and memorial service for my mother

I wrote my mom's obituary today. It's hard to sum up the most influential person in your life in a few words fit for public consumption in a newspaper.

"Mrs. JoAnne Leone Roberts, 61, died on May 20th, 2014 in her home in Allentown, PA of complications from lung cancer.

JoAnne was born in Monessan, PA on March 22nd, 1953 to Joseph Leone, a steelworker, and Julia Gush, a homemaker, and grew up there. She attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania for her undergraduate studies in Fine Arts, before earning her Masters of Art Education from Penn State University. She married Edward Roberts, an electrical engineer whom she met at IUP, on December 27th, 1975. Her daughter Phoebe was born in 1987, and her son Casey in 1989. She taught art across the grade levels in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and California. She was an active member of her school communities, organizing festivals and arts events, as well as a Sunday school teacher in her church. She was a talented artist in many media, interested in creative pursuits of all kinds, and had a great passion for animals, particularly dogs and horses. She is remembered by those who knew her as intelligent, creative, multi-talented, gracious, and kind.

She is survived by her husband Edward and her children Phoebe and Casey. A memorial service will be held for her with a mass at 10AM on Saturday, May 24th, 2014 at St. Ursula’s Catholic Church at 1300 Broadway, in Fountain Hill, PA 18105."