Willie Jo Sanford was born April 23, 1935 in Kennedy, AL, to Clyman A. Sanford and Jessie Kathleen (Dodson) Sanford.  She spent most of her formative years in Lamar County and attended school in Vernon, graduatng high school in 1953.  She attended Alverson-Draughon Business College in Birmingham and became an extremely competent bookkeeper and secretary.  On December 25, 1959, she married her classmate, Olen Andrew Seay, Jr., and spent the next 20 years as a Marine Corps Officer's wife. They had three children: Rhonda Kathleen, Bradley Andrew, and Faith Adene.  During those years of travel, she longed for her family in Lamar County, and on her husband's retirement from the USMC, they built a log cabin on a ridge above her father's farmstead where she spent the rest of her life "back home."  Many Lamar County residents may remember her sweet smile from her time as the secretary of Lamar County High School, or the legal assistant to District Judge Ed Gosa.

Jo was a great lover of literature and read every word written by authors such as Charles Dickens, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Miss Read.  Her love of the Word led her to read her Bible daily, and she began every morning with her Bible plan, reading through the entire book every year. Friends from church may remember her famous "Monkey Bread," a staple at potlucks.

She departed this world on October 3, 2025, at the age of 90. She longed for Heaven and looked forward to rejoining those who predeceased her: her father Clyman A. Sanford, mother Jessie Kathleen (Dodson) Sanford, and beloved sister Jessie Maureen Moore.  She is survived by another beloved sister, Charlotte Ann Cross.

The immediate family survivors are her husband, Olen Andrew Seay; her children, their spouses and grandchildren: Rhonda (Kate) Cutts, Daniel S. Cutts, and their children Emelyn M. Cutts and Bradley A. Cutts; B. Andrew Seay and his wife Tracie Winbigler, his children Sarah Seay and her husband Blake Anderson, and his son Michael Seay; Faith S. Regn and her wife Jessica Regn.

On Friday October 10, 2025, the family invites you to a visitation at the Vernon Church of Christ, from 3:00-4:00 PM, followed by a memorial service at 4:00 PM.

Jo was dedicated to providing for orphans and the suffering.  In lieu of flowers she wished donations be made in her name to AGAPE of North Alabama (103 Mountain Brook Blvd, Madison, AL 35758), Rainbow Omega Inc. (P.O Box 740, Eastaboga, AL 36260), or Church of
Christ Disaster Relief Efforts Inc. (410 Allied Drive, Nashville, TN 37211-3304).