Volunteered for The Times for 50+ years
The Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood, the city of St. Louis and this newspaper lost a champion with the death of Jo Ann Vatcha, a longtime resident of the 6100 Westminster Place block.
“Jo Ann Vatcha was Wonder Woman,” said Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill and developer of several iconic Delmar Loop properties. “Jo Ann quietly took care of things, treated people with respect, while maintaining her staunch dedication to the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood.”
Mr. Edwards worked with Ms. Vatcha given her position as head of the Redevelopment Committee for the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council (SDCC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mr. Edwards wanted to redevelop the east end of the Loop across Skinker Boulevard. His first project: The Pageant concert venue. To move forward he knew he would need neighborhood support.
“People told me I needed to talk to Jo Ann as I began buying properties east of Skinker because she was well respected by everyone,” he said.
The development was a big step for the neighborhood — particularly for those residents in the 6000 and 6100 blocks of Washington Avenue and Westminster Place. While the neighborhood wanted improvements on Delmar Boulevard, it was concerned about a concert hall and the impact it would have on noise, trash and traffic.
“Jo Ann was calm, cool and collected, and could succinctly state points of view and effectively navigate competing interests,” said Mr. Edwards. “Jo Ann wrote great support letters from the neighborhood, which outlined neighborhood concerns and how they were being addressed. These letters were instrumental in moving things forward at City Hall.”
Together, Mr. Edwards said, he and Ms. Vatcha forged a collaboration that addressed residents’ concerns and set the stage for two remarkable neighborhood resurgences — the East Loop and the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood.
“Jo Ann was one of the great leaders of Skinker DeBaliviere and the Delmar Loop,” Mr. Edwards said.
A Newspaper and A Neighborhood
Ms. Vatcha moved to the neighborhood with her husband Neville, who died in 2021. Initially, they lived in an apartment on Nina Place, then moved to the house on the 6100 Westminster Place block in 1974. This would be their home for the next almost 50 years with their daughters Chanaya and Dina.
Ms. Vatcha left her mark on this all-volunteer newspaper for more than 50 years, working as a writer and also serving as managing editor for many years.
“I recruited Jo Ann immediately when she moved into the neighborhood,” recalled Marj Weir, former editor for The Times of Skinker DeBaliviere. “She had an English degree, was a former teacher, and that was precisely what this newspaper needed.”
In 2008, to recognize the neighborhood’s centennial, Ms. Vatcha and Ms. Weir collaborated on the book Celebrating Skinker-DeBaliviere: A History and Comeback. “It all kind of came together: the paper, neighborhood history, and Jo Ann’s deep social connections,” said Ms. Weir.
Jo Ann and Neville’s back yard parties were a social center for the neighborhood, Ms. Weir also recalled. “It was a place where everyone felt welcome.”
New neighbors from across Skinker DeBaliviere were welcomed there; birthdays, graduations, showers (both wedding and baby) were celebrated there; and family events — even weddings were held there.
A Rich Legacy of City Service
Ms. Vatcha taught briefly in the Parkway School District and later worked for a continuing education company, but it was her neighborhood and city to which she dedicated her numerous talents professionally.
As executive director of Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS), Ms. Vatcha oversaw a home repair program for low-income residents in two north St. Louis neighborhoods, Penrose and O’Fallon, and some of the smallest north county municipalities. She also expanded NHS to Tower Grove East in South City.
Later, Ms. Vatcha worked for the City’s Operation Impact program and as a Housing Analyst for the City’s Community Development Administration where she helped stabilize the Benton Park, Benton Park West, Soulard and Gravois Park neighborhoods.
“Jo Ann wasn’t just fun to be around, she was quiet and a determined force in our neighborhood and in the city as a whole,” said long-time neighbor and friend Lucille “Lu” Green. “That was the thing about Jo Ann, you could meet her in her back yard, across a desk or standing at a dais answering questions from residents, and you got the same smart, kind, steady Jo Ann we all knew and loved.”
