Josephine "Jo" Strube

Josephine Mary Genova Strube, age 102, of Jackson, passed away peacefully with her daughter by her side on Thursday, October 5, 2023. Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at the Osterberg Funeral Home in Jackson.  Funeral service will begin 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Ann Hokenstad officiating. Burial with Military Honors performed by Jackson American Legion Post #130 will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Jackson.

The funeral service will be live streamed on the Osterberg Funeral Home Facebook page.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Jackson Snow Angels is encouraged.

Josephine Genova Strube was born November 28, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois to Italian (Sicilian) immigrants Joseph and Rosalie (Romano) Genova. She grew up in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and attended Chicago schools. She graduated from Knickerbocker Grade School and Waller High School in 1939. She was confirmed in her Christian faith at St. Vincent de Paul Church. She attended Mother Cabrini School of Nursing in Chicago. After graduation, she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and served her country in WWII. Her basic training was at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin, where she established an OB unit in the base hospital for the officers’ wives. She was transferred to Percy Jones/Ft. Custer, Michigan where she met her future husband Norman Strube of Jackson, MN.  After the war, she rode on a troop train with the paralyzed soldiers to Vaughan General Army Hospital (now Hines VA) in Illinois. She stayed on several weeks with other Army Nurses to teach the staff how to care for the soldiers. Later, Hines VA became a center for paralyzed veterans. Jo was honorably discharged in June 1946 at Ft. Sheridan, Illinois.

Norman and Josephine (Jo) were married July 13, 1946 in Jackson. Jo worked private duty nursing at the Halloran Hospital in Jackson. In 1950, Dr. Doman asked her to set up and staff the new Lakefield Hospital. She asked Blanche Phinney RN to assist her, and together they got the new hospital in working order. The Lakefield Hospital opened December 1, 1950. Jo later returned to the Halloran Hospital and finished her nursing career at the Jackson Municipal Hospital in 1978.

Jo was a member of The Minnesota Nurses Association, The Jackson American Legion Post 130, the Jackson American Legion Auxiliary and the Army Nurse Corps Association. She was very proud of her heritage and her service to her country and community. She spoke up whenever she could to promote women veterans and the Medical Corps. Jo was honored by The Minnesota Nurses Association, in 2003, and again in 2017 for her distinguished service to her country and community. She was on the 2010 inaugural “Honor Flight Southwest Minnesota,” to Washington D.C. to see the WWII Memorial and other monuments.

Jo loved her family. Her great-grandchildren loved to hear her stories of growing up in Chicago during Prohibition and The Great Depression. She was known for her infectious laugh and sense of humor -often pulling tricks on others.

Surviving family include her three daughters: Cathy (William) Buxengard of Worthington, MN; Lori Nyholm, Oxford, WI; and Beth Wilking, Elysian, MN. 10 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, 1 great- great grandchild, one brother Nicholas Genova of Loudon, TN., and several nieces and nephews.Preceding her in death was her beloved husband, Norman; her parents; 1 brother James Genova; 2 sisters, Anne Newshaw and Frances Franklin; one great grandson and one infant sister, Josephine.

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