Mary Jo Lytle Gilbert Stancil, 86, of Mooresville, N.C., peacefully went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, October 6, 2022, following a period of declining health. Mary Jo was born on December 20, 1935, to the late Robert Lee and Elsie Mae Cook Lytle.

Graduating from Mooresville High School, Mary Jo proudly represented her alma mater as Carousel Princess and continued to become Carousel Queen. Beauty and grace blessed all three Lytle sisters.

She will always be remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. A beach enthusiast, Mary Jo truly enjoyed beach music, shagging and her SOS friends.

Throughout her life she worked in Business Administration, including 20 years at Brawley Seed Company, Fleetwood of Mooresville, and later in life the N.C. Legislation in Raleigh.

She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Lee Lytle and mother Elsie Cook Lytle; husband Dan Stancil; sisters Jerre Barlowe and Bobbie Morrison; and her son-in-law Julio Herrera Jr.

Those left to cherish her memory include the father of her children, Jack L. Gilbert of Charlotte, Sheree Friedman of Myrtle Beach, Cindy Hackett and husband Dino of Pleasant Garden, and Beth Herrera of Waxhaw. Also surviving are Jeff Morrison, Tammy Jetton and Donna Phillips, who was a very special niece loved dearly by Mary Jo. Seven grandchildren, Andrea, Chance, Grayson, Dustin, Jax, Jordan, Christian and six great grandchildren also survive.

A funeral service to celebrate Jo’s life will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Receiving friends will take place at 12 noon followed by the funeral at 1 p.m. Interment will follow at Glenwood Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to one of the following organizations, https://www.nccops.net The NC Chapter of COPS (Concerns of Police Survivors) is a non profit that works with families and coworkers of fallen police officers to work through the grief of the loss. It is 100% donation driven and made up entirely of survivors. There is a donate button on the homepage. https://akptso.weebly.com To donate to Officer Herrera Scholarship fund by sending a donation to the scholarship fund through Venmo at @akhsptso. Please note Officer Herrera in the note for the donation. A check may also be sent to the Officer Herrera Scholarship c/o AKHS PTSO 10220 Audrey Kell Road Charlotte, NC 28277 and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Cavin-Cook Funeral Home, Mooresville, is serving the family of Mrs. Stancil. Condolences may be made to the Stancil family at www.cavin-cook.com.