Memorial services for Josephine "Jo" McCance, 86 of Gregory were held on Friday, December 31, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Gregory with Father Godfrey Muwanga as Celebrant. A wake service was held on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the church.
Altar Servers were Dominic Lammers and Philomena Lammers. Lectors were Bill McCance and Blaine McCance.
Music was provided by the St. Joseph's Choir accompanied by Caitlin Clark, organist.
Mary McCance, Jenene Sand, and Susan Bennet were in charge of registration.
Gift bearers were the Lammers family, McIntyre family, McCance family, King family, and Mira family.
Flower attendants were Jennifer Lammers, Lorna McIntyre, Taylor McCance, and Ashlea King.
Urn Bearers were Steve McCance and Blaine McCance.
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Born in Highmore, South Dakota, March 14, 1924 to Joseph and Theresa Pekarek, Marian Josephine Pekarek was the second of six children, and grew up on the farm 14 miles south of Highmore, SD. While she was known to her family in Highmore as Marian, many knew her as Jo. Her parents attended the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at the Stephan Mission south of Highmore where she was baptized, received First Holy Communion, and was confirmed into the Catholic faith. Jo attended the country grade school and graduated from Highmore High School in 1941.
Jo began training for her nursing career in Pierre, SD, at St. Mary's Hospital in 1942. Six months of that training was in Oak Knoll, California in the Navy Cadet Corps. After graduating nursing school in 1945 and achieving the highest score on the South Dakota state boards test, she was finally a registered nurse!
As an RN, Jo's first employment was Sioux Falls, SD. Later she worked in Viborg for a short time and then moved to Burke, SD where she worked until her marriage to William Albert McCance on October 18, 1947. To this union nine children were born, with one child, a son Bobby who died at birth. The family including their various dogs, cats, horses, and lambs grew up in the Dixon-Gregory-Dallas area.
The family spent many weekends camping with friends in the Pickstown Dam Recreation area and other sites along the shores of the great Missouri River. Jo was a great instigator and the coordinator of these excursions, creating many beautiful memories of family fun. She actually started waterskiing at the age of 70, demonstrating her determination to always enjoy life! She was an avid fan of any school and extracurricular activity that her children and grandchildren participated in during their school years and was their number one fan!
Jo continued working as an RN in the area, while raising the family at home. She held the positions of Director of Nursing at two nursing homes and staff nurse at local hospitals until about 1980. From then on, Jo continued with part time care for elderly and disabled people in the area. She had a very compassionate and dedicated heart for people in need, and cared for others well into her 70's.
Her training came to its greatest use when she began, and continued with, the care of her husband Bill after his stroke. As a result of her dedicated and personalized care as a nurse, Bill's recovery was far greater than it would have been. She cared for Bill until his death in 2007. After his death, she spent her time socializing, especially with a group of women who met regularly for cards and cookies.
Game of pitch anyone? How about a game of cutthroat Pinochle? Maybe Cribbage? Mother was as dedicated to the art of playing cards as her husband, Bill, until his death. She always had a deck of cards ready with a scrap of paper to keep score. Game points were tallied on an envelope from junk mail (she loved to recycle)! Jo also loved polka music from the Lawrence Welk Show and Polka Joe Show on TV. She would teach her children to dance the polka in the living room while the shows played on.
Jo had a tremendous love of land and nature. She loved to go driving and admire the land, whether it was familiar farmland where she lived, the Black Hills, or other such natural treasures. Her "welcome mat" was always out for friends and family. Her door was always open to extended family, with a great meal ready.
She was a life-long member of the Catholic Church, the majority of that time was in St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Gregory, where she loved to sing in the choir during her later years. Within the church, her gift was to help quietly with any area of need. To her children, her greatest gift of all was a foundation of faith created by instilling a sense of integrity, honesty, and moral responsibility, as taught by the Catholic Church. She led by example, teaching her children and grandchildren to follow their conscience. She kept the whole family in the loop regarding important family news. As such, Jo was the glue that held the family together.
Jo died peacefully at home with her family by her side on Thursday, December 23, 2010. Her legacy to her children and succeeding generations is the importance of family, dedication to the Catholic faith, compassion and caring for people in need, and perseverance in all things.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill, son, Bobby, parents, Theresa and Joe Pekarek, sister, Leona Wade, brothers, Larry Pekarek and Ronnie Pekarek.
She is survived by her children, Karen (Abe) Mira, Sharen (Mike) Schoendorf, Bill (Bonnie) McCance, Jane (Dean) McIntyre, Pat (Merlin) Lammers, Steve (Karli) McCance, Angie (Kevin) King, and Blaine (Carol) McCance, 17 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, her sister, Shirly Garrigan, three sisters-in-law, Mary McCance, Katy Burt, and Dona Shattuck, and numerous nieces and nephews.
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