Jo passed away peacefully in her home, Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the age of 94. Born on a farm near Pretty Prairie, KS, on January 3rd, 1925, she moved with her family to Conway Springs, KS in 1936, and graduated from Andale High School in 1943.
Moving to Wichita to work in Civil Service, she met and married her husband, John D. Green “J.D.” in 1945. The couple bought a farm near Castleton, KS and lived and farmed there for more than a decade. The pair moved to Wichita in 1958 where they continued to work, farm part-time, and retire after raising three boys, John E., David D., and Paul J. Green,
Jo was a voracious reader and lover of books, as well as the keeper of her family’s genealogical history. She never met a stranger, and was an active and vital volunteer member in her Catholic par-ishes, local scout troops, catholic elementary schools, and with the American Ex-Prisoners of War organization and at the Robert Dole Veteran’s Administration Hospital.
Her mild exterior belied an inner-strength and razor sharp wit, which demonstrated itself in some-times surprising ways. She once shot and killed a rampaging steer that had escaped the slaughter-house in north Wichita, and charged her, while she was carrying a military payroll pouch. This was much to the astonishment of the men watching from behind a fence a few dozen yards away.
She took delight in the title of “Mean Jo Green” as a lunch lady at All Saints Catholic School, but cherished the title of “Aunt Jo” most of all to the dozens of nephews, nieces, and cousins who ad-mired and loved her.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mary Berndsen, her loving husband, John D. Green, her six brothers; John, Henry, Simon, Martin, Bernard and Louis Berndsen, her sisters, Laverne, Laura, and Martha and her son David D. Green.
She is survived by her two sons, John E. Green of Wichita, and Paul J. Green of Salina, and three grandchildren; Regina Dunn of New Orleans, John E. Green of Arlington, Virginia, and Raquel Fuentes-Fritz of Salina, KS.
Jo's Rosary service will be held at 4 p.m. Wed. April 17, 2019, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 4:30 p.m., both at Christ the King Catholic Church, 4411 W. Maple St. Wichita, KS 67209. Interment immediately following at Calvary Catholic Cemetery.
