Jo Ann Bergstrom Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Jo Ann Bergstrom March 1, 1928 – December 17, 2016 Jo Ann (Straight) Bergstrom was born and raised in Cedar Falls Iowa, where she was smack dab in the middle of 11 children. She had five older and five younger, and five brothers and five sisters. She turned her sometimes challenging experiences of growing up in a big family in the depression into funny and suspenseful stories that captivated her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She loved dancing, and met the love of her life at a dance (after he watched her from the sidelines). Although John Jacob Bergstrom didn’t dance, he won her heart and they married in 1946, at ages 18 and 20. Together they lived in Iowa, Chicago, and McKinney, TX. She moved to Austin after he died in 2011, to be near one of her daughters. She liked, admired and enjoyed the many friends she made at Longhorn Village. In addition to dancing, she loved parenting, encouraging others, listening to music, bird watching, reading and exercising (starting each day on her treadmill). Back in Iowa, she was often the neighborhood adult out playing games with the kids in the fresh fallen snow. By her family and friends she is most remembered for her sparkling green eyes, her big and generous heart, her sense of humor, and her great wisdom about life – handed out simply, without fanfare, in ways that will never be forgotten. She was, above all else, a wonderful devoted wife, mother and grandmother who loved deeply and was deeply loved in return. She marveled at her great fortune to have married so young and to have remained so happily married for so many years. She approached her decline bravely and with her usual positive spirit, saying she had lived a great life and encouraging others to march on with joy. She is survived by two sisters, one brother, her daughters Becky (Bill) Forsberg and Lori Ruhlman (whose husband Tom died in 2015); four grandchildren that she adored and five great grandchildren that she so wished she could have watched grow up. In lieu of flowers, send donations in her name to the American Heart Association.

Jo Ann Bergstrom

March 1, 1928 - December 17, 2016

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Jo Ann Bergstrom

March 1, 1928 - December 17, 2016

Obituary & Service

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