- Date Of Birth: September 11, 1926
- Date Of Death: February 23, 2022
- State: Florida
Josephine Ann Breitwieser passed away peacefully on February 23, 2022, in Fleming Island Florida. Jo was born September 11, 1926, in Du Quoin, Illinois, to Joseph and Dominica Cicardo, both from Sicily. She was the youngest of 8 children, and her father died when she was 10.
Jo joined the United States Cadet Nurse Corps and received her RN at St. Mary’s Hospital in St. Louis. She met her beloved husband Bob on a blind date and they married in 1949. After Bob received his engineering degree, they moved to Denver and raised 3 children. The family traveled all over the west in a Winnebago, fishing, and sightseeing. Over the years, they moved and were residing in Pittsburg, Kansas when Bob died at age 55. Jo worked as a school nurse, then an Operating Room Nurse, and continued her volunteer work as County Chairman of the American Cancer Society and President of the Association of Operating Room Nurses for Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. She received the Spirit Of Mt. Carmel Award, for her dedication and support of Mt. Carmel’s Medical Center’s mission.
Retiring from nursing, Jo moved to Virginia Beach to be closer to her daughter. She became an active volunteer for Lee’s friends, a cancer support group, the Red Cross, and Operation Smile, a non-profit organization operating on children with cleft lips and facial deformities. In charge of medical records, Jo traveled on 45 mission trips around the world including the Philippines, Vietnam, Russia, Ghana, Israel, China, Jordan, Jerusalem, Kenya, and Columbia. During her travels, she rode an elephant, a camel, went on a safari, and enjoyed the world!
Jo moved to Orange Park in 2001 to spend time with her family.
Jo was preceded in death by her parents, husband, son, and siblings.
Her survivors include her son, Bob(Linda) Breitwieser; her daughter, Sue Wetzel; grandchildren, Matt (Sarah) Wetzel, Eric (Maddy) Wetzel, Julie (Jon) Wilson, 9 great-grandchildren and close nieces, nephews, and friends.
