OBITUARY: Josephine “Jodie” Stanton Sterba

Josephine “Jodie” Stanton Sterba died Aug. 27, 2018. She was 97 years old. A Memorial Mass will be on Saturday, September 15th at 10am at St. Paul of the Cross Church in Park Ridge. There will be a gathering of friends and family beforehand downstairs at 9am. Internment will be at Columbia Cemetery in Ottawa, Illinois on Monday.

Jodie was born in Ottawa on December 20th, 1920. She was the second child of Josephine “Dodie” and William Stanton. After growing up in Ottawa, she received her B.A. in Drama from Mundelein College and then headed to New York. She acted in summer stock in Westport, Cohasset, and professionally in Pittsburgh. Later fulfilling a dream of being on Broadway she played the young lead in Jacques Deval’s, “Boudoir.”

Returning to the Midwest and marrying “her beloved Tony” she raised 4 boys. She carried her love of story and performance into the Park Ridge Library where she was a professional storyteller for 22 years. In her 50’s she got her Masters in Library Science from Dominican University. She was affiliated with The American Library Association, Catholic Library Association, Apostolate of Women, and organizations within her church.  She absolutely loved being a part of the community in Ephraim, Wisconsin.

Jodie knew how to come alongside people who were in difficult times. She encouraged them to feel, emote, and to persevere. A voracious reader, she inspired others to stretch in their thinking. But in all, she knew that the greatest gift in this life was to give and receive love.

Survivors include her sons Will, John (Janice), Jamie (Julie) and Will’s former wife, Diane; along with eight grandchildren, Bodin (Katy), Anika, Katrina (Justin), Randi, Daniel, Jacob, Cole, and Becket; and three great grandchildren, Gemma, Edie, and Brennan.

She was preceded in death by her husband Antonin “Tony” Sterba, her son, Tony Jr., her mother and father, Josephine and William Stanton Sr., and her brother, William “Bill” Stanton Jr.

Memorials may be made to Rainbow Hospice in Mount Prospect, Illinois.