Jo Ann M. Brinker Obituary

Jo Ann Marie Wulf Brinker -- beloved mother, grandmother and friend -- passed away peacefully on Friday April 11, 2025, with her children at her bedside. She was 86.

Born in Danbury, Iowa, Jo grew up in Moville, Iowa, and married the love of her life -- husband Monte -- in 1956 in Climbing Hill, Iowa. After living in Climbing Hill, Sioux City and Omaha, she spent much of her life in Ralston, Nebraska where she raised her family, ran a successful business with Monte and was deeply involved in her church and local schools. She was known for her warmth, generosity, sense of humor and spectacularly huge garage sales.

Jo was preceded in death by Monte in 2014. She is survived by her son Greg and his wife Barb; daughter Jodi and her husband Ross; and her cherished grandchildren Izzy, Davis, and Alex.

In her later years, she found great joy and comfort living near family in Michigan, where she enjoyed the company of close friends at her adopted homes of Sterling Oaks in Portage and Park Village Pines in Kalamazoo. Her legacy lives on in the lives she touched and the values she instilled and will be dearly missed and loved by family and friends.

Memorials can be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church, 504 S Westnedge Ave, Kalamazoo, MI 49007.