Jo Janet Irene Oberg joined her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in heaven on August 11, 2023. A long-time resident of Clay Center, Kansas, she died peacefully in Concordia, Kansas 2 months after celebrating her 90th birthday.
Jo was born June 17, 1933, to Chester W. and Beatrice Berndette (Betty) Finley Oberg in Clay Center. As a young girl, Jo stood out as an entrepreneur and trailblazer from the beginning. She raised rabbits and chickens and sold them to the grocery store, and she delivered newspapers around town from her motor scooter as a paper girl, a position usually held by boys. Fascinated by her dad’s Navy “Blue Jacket Manual,” she learned about Navy signal flags, medical care procedures, and the “fireman’s carry” and then gathered the other neighborhood children to train them.
After graduating from CCHS in Clay Center, Jo enrolled at Kansas State University in 1951 and graduated with a BS in Psychology in 1955. Following in her father’s footsteps, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January 1957, retiring 20 years later in 1977.
Jo was proud of her Navy career as an officer where she reached the level of Lieutenant Commander and served in several locations around the U.S. including Virginia, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., California, and South Carolina. Some highlights of her time in the Navy included being stationed in Hawaii on Statehood Day in 1959 and acting as Company Commander of the only women’s unit marching in President John F. Kennedy’s funeral procession. Jo played an instrumental role in setting up “Operation Homecoming,” a program to reunite returning Vietnam prisoners of war with their families at the end of the war, for which she received an award given to her personally by former POW Jeremiah Denton. Jo was a leader and worked to improve the status of women in the military. At every location during her Navy years, she made lifelong friends and took advantage of seeing the sights and entertaining her friends. She was an avid swimmer, runner, and mountain climber.
In addition to Jo’s Navy duties, she had a passionate interest in the space program. She attended NASA-sponsored programs and aeronautics classes in various cities at her own expense on her own time. She travelled to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to witness the launchings of Apollo IX and XI in the 1960s, two of the highlights of her life. Apollo XI was the mission that landed the first men on the moon.
Following her retirement from the Navy in 1977 and her mother’s passing in 1978, Jo moved back to Clay Center and bought a home at 736 Franklin Street. She worked from 1979-1986 at Union State bank as the Assistant to the President. The years of 1978 and 1979 were life-changing for Jo as she adjusted from Navy life to life back in her hometown. She credited her friend Verna Paronto with opening her eyes to Jesus and the Bible. On December 23, 1978 she was born again and dedicated her life to Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
Jo became active in the Evangelical Covenant Church of Clay Center in 1979 at a time when they were struggling with an aging and declining membership. She along with many others actively prayed and worked to recruit young families with children to become members. They were very successful as is evidenced by the thriving church and strong youth program today.
Her strong faith and desire to educate others about Jesus led her to OMS International, a worldwide missionary organization, and specifically to Taiwan. In 1986, she left her bank position in Clay Center to work for OMS, eventually creating Jo Oberg Ministries, where she was an Honorary and Associate Missionary for 13 years. During those years she served in various places such as Tainan, Taichung, and Chiayi cities. She met Grace Chang at that time, and they traveled and spread the Word of God together. They made a memorable journey to distribute Bibles through mainland China at a time when Christianity was forbidden there and practiced strictly underground.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s in addition to spending time periodically in Taiwan, Jo became a Union State Bank director and the manager of the Oberg farms around Clay County. She dedicated her time increasingly to learning the farming business and getting to know the local farmers. She hosted numerous “Farm Meetings” for the Oberg relatives. Thanks to Jo, these meetings not only entailed farm business but also served as valuable family reunions and brought the Oberg cousins and second cousins together after being scattered around the country for many years.
Jo’s connection with Union State Bank was very important to her, as many who knew her may remember from the Union State Bank hat and coat she often wore. Her great-grandfather Eric Swenson, USB Bank President at the time, died on June 18, 1933, one day after Jo was born. She felt strongly that she was born into the legacy left by Eric Swenson to safeguard the bank throughout her lifetime, and she dedicated much time and effort to the business of Union State Bank, both as an employee and as a member of the Board of Directors for many years.
As Jo’s friends and elderly relatives experienced health issues over the years, Jo often spent many hours at their sides caring for them and offering support to their families. She maintained a deep love for the people of both Taiwan and Clay Center for the rest of her life. She and Grace Chang divided their time between Taiwan and Kansas until Jo could no longer travel to Taiwan, and Grace then made multiple visits to Jo.
Jo will be remembered fondly for her strong faith, for her stubborn independence, and for her sense of humor which remained with her to the end. She was truly one-of-a-kind and left an impression on everyone who met her.
Jo was preceded in death by her parents, two older sisters, Franc Harriett and Florence Hope Schwab, step-brother Phil Donley, and long-time friend Mary Petee.
She is survived by younger sister, Pamela June (Oberg) Sharp (John) of Albuquerque NM, dear friend Grace Chang of Tainan, Taiwan, niece Linda (Schwab) Messmer (Greg) of Lakewood, CO, niece Melodie (Schwab) Marine (Larry) of Clearwater FL, nephew Scott Schwab (Marcy) of Heartland, TX, niece Julie (Sharp) Allen (Michael) of Evanston IL, niece Melissa (Sharp) Freymann (John) of Severna Park, MD, nephew Jeffrey Sharp (Jennifer) of Albuquerque, NM, niece Christie (Sharp) Ochoa (John) of Downers Grove, IL, and nephew Robert Sharp of Chicago, IL, step-mother Reta Oberg of Wichita, KS, step-brothers Ed, P. Kelley and Rodger Donley.
Her many dear friends, neighbors, and the Evangelical Covenant Church community meant the world to her.
Visitation will be held on Monday, August 28, 2023 from 3 – 7 pm at the Neill-Schwensen-Rook Funeral Home in Clay Center, Kansas.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30a.m. on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Clay Center, 1330 15th St, followed immediately by a church luncheon.
Memorial contributions may be made to the following and sent in care of the funeral home:
Clay Center Covenant Church at 1330 15th St, Clay Center KS, or OMS (One Mission Society), 941 Fry Road, PO Box A, Greenwood, IN 46142