Jo Lynn Mancuso

"Strong" is a word used to describe many things. To the family of Jo Lynn Mancuso, 45, it was and always will be a word to describe the fearless, independent, strong woman that they said goodbye to, after a lengthy battle with illness, on Thursday, February 11, 2016, in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Born on April 1, 1970, in East Liverpool, Ohio, Jo Lynn stood out at an early age. A beautiful mix of her father, William Durbin, and her mother, Patricia McGaffic, Jo Lynn was the embodiment of fearlessness. She loved and watched over her sister, Tricia Robbins, her brother, Bobby Durbin, and her sister-in-law Renee Durbin. Years later, she welcomed her stepmother, Tammy Durbin, her stepfather, Allen McGaffic, her stepsister, Kim Potts, and her stepbrothers Todd McGaffic and Tommy Koonce into her family and into her heart. Following her move from Ohio to Florida in her early 20s, fate mated with destiny and birthed a love so strong sickness and the ups and downs of life simply could not defeat it. At a local dive shop in Boynton Beach, Florida, Jo Lynn met the man that she would eventually call her husband, Charles Mancuso; the pair recently celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary. Jo Lynn loved her husband, yet she had a greater love that could not be matched: her love for her children. Brittany Mancuso and Christopher Mancuso were her pride and joy. "Nobody messes with my kids," was an expression heard often. To no one's surprise, she treated her niece, Hailey, and nephews Hunter and Ty with the same love and devotion. Jo Lynn's passions were vast. Her hobbies ranged from horseback riding and scuba diving to baking and singing. The proudest moment of her career was being named the first female member of an AMLS pit crew in the United States and Europe and, in 2005, winning the world's oldest active sports car race, 24 Hours of Le Mans, in Le Mans, France. She was a caretaker, a free spirit, a friend, a daughter, an aunt, a sister, a wife, and a mother… but, above all else, she was a warrior.