Sugar Grove’s ‘JoJo the Clown’ remembered for dedication, service to community

Although Karen McCannon began writing about Sugar Grove for the Elburn Herald in October 1971, her impact in the Sugar Grove community for 57 years was bigger than anything she’d ever write about.

Whether you knew her as a dedicated, giving member of Sugar Grove Methodist Church, for her tireless efforts giving back to Sugar Grove through a variety of selfless, volunteer acts, or by her alter ego, JoJo the Clown, you knew Karen McCannon if you spent any time in Sugar Grove.

McCannon, who made Sugar Grove her home in 1965, passed away on Jan. 11 at the age of 78.

“My mom and dad (Mick) were fixtures in the neighborhood and my dad grew up here so they were here for many years and it’s a long legacy,” said McCannon’s daughter, Susanne McCannon. “She took the torch after he died (in 2002) and continued to do so much in the community. It gave her great joy.”

Longtime Sugar Grove resident Carol Ottum’s relationship with McCannon dates back to 1970.

“She was a census taker,” Ottum said. “She and Mick were counted as our best friends since then. She was a great lady. We will miss her.”

She worked as an administrative assistant for regional sales at Cargill Seed in Aurora before retiring but was most known around town for her volunteer efforts through the United Methodist Church, at the Between Friends Food Pantry, in getting the gigantic Christmas tree lit on the corner of Route 47 and Cross Street and in organizing and leading an annual 4th of July bike parade as JoJo the Clown.

“If something was going to happen and she wanted to get it done, it would get done,” said longtime Sugar Grove resident Joe Didier. “If she heard something was going on I’d be getting a call. She knew I’d be going to all the board meetings and with the Corn Boil and stuff. The Christmas tree made her proud as a peacock. She got the ball rolling and got the money to make it happen.”

Recognized with Sugar Grove’s Citizen of the Year award in 2008, McCannon organized a toilet paper drive for the food pantry years before the panic-buying toilet paper shortage of 2020.

“We got enough toilet paper for the year and that’s not counting all the cash that came behind it,” said Melisa Taylor, who started the food pantry. “And that inspired her to come volunteering here to help. She was exactly who she was: serious, a splash of sass and a happy smile. When a voice was needed, if it was something she believed in and supported, she was a megaphone.”

While she had a number of health issues as she got older, you wouldn’t have known it other than the fact that she used a motorized wheelchair to get around, which didn’t deny her freedom and independence.

“She never let anything slow her down,” Susanne McCannon said. “She was a model for people to focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do. Life throws you a lot of curveballs, but what are you going to do with them?”

Speaking of curveballs, that a clown would be the mastermind behind starting an annual 4th of July bike parade isn’t surprisingly when that clown was McCannon’s own JoJo. Her granddaughter Alyssa McCannon had participated in a similar parade in Yorkville, and after sharing that idea with her grandmother, JoJo sprung into action, leading the way while cruising around in her Clown Victoria every summer until retiring in 2020.

“She and my father were involved in the church and had some friends that were a part of the Christian clowns, and her faith was strong so this was a way to give back,” Susanne McCannon said. “There wasn’t anything like this to celebrate the fourth of July so she started it from nothing all because she wanted to do something for others.”

The magnificent evergreen became even more impressive over the Christmas holiday in 2015 after JoJo’s fundraising efforts resulted in the tree being illuminated. Anyone driving through town on Route 47 during the holiday season has undoubtedly seen it, although few knew that the tree was planted by Mick McCannon, providing a special joy for JoJo while brightening the lives of all those who see it.

A celebration and memorial to honor McCannon’s life has been scheduled for May 1 in Big Rock.