OBITUARY Josephine “Jo” Irene Nakata June 12, 1966 – November 26, 2018 Play Tribute Movie Josephine “Jo” Nakata, beloved wife, mother, and sister, passed away in her sleep on Monday, November 26, 2018, at her home in Austin, Texas. She was 52 years of age. She had endured unbelievable levels of pain from her Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in her right arm for the last eleven years; however, she no longer bears that burden, and she is surrounded by those she loved dearly who had passed before her, including her dearest grandma, her beloved grandpa, and wonderful mother-in-law.
While Jo was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, on June 12, 1966, her family frequently moved to various parts of the country, so she considered home to be Paonia, Colorado, where her grandparents had resided. She eventually landed in Spring, Texas, where she graduated from Spring High School in 1984. She went on to receive her associate’s degree from North Harris County Community College then enrolled in Sam Houston State University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1989.
Jo began her elementary school teaching career at the newly-opened Black Elementary School in the Aldine Independent School District (ISD) in northern Houston, Texas, then transitioned to the southern side to P.H. Greene Elementary School in the Clear Creek ISD. Upon arriving in Austin in 1994, she was immediately hired by Forest North Elementary School in the Round Rock ISD due to her Reading Recovery certification. She moved on to Old Town Elementary School in the same district before leaving the profession to become a full-time mother.
Jo met her husband Steve on March 2, 1991, in Nassau Bay, Texas, at an all-day, all-night shrimp/crawfish boil and volleyball party hosted by young NASA engineers. They married on June 19, 1993, in League City, Texas, where they resided for another year before relocating to Austin, Texas. They moved to Aurora, Colorado, in 2003 but returned to Austin in 2010.
Jo’s son, Will, was born the day before her birthday in 1998, and she dedicated herself to being the best mother she could be. However, she also continued her love of teaching children by starting a tutoring business a few years later that evolved into an educational products company, Fascinate-Educate, Inc She also homeschooled Will from first through sixth grades after the local elementary school failed to keep up with his needs for more advanced coursework.
Jo’s hobbies included crafts and scrapbooking. Her home was essentially an extensive supply house, with every available nook and cranny filled with raw materials. She combined those hobbies with her love of teaching children in developing the products that her company manufactured and distributed to teacher supply stores across the country.
Jo also enjoyed traveling, especially internationally. She and her family have visited Rome, London, Tokyo, Paris, and Luxembourg within the last five years. This past summer, she and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by taking a three-week tour of Milan, Zurich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, and Amsterdam, traveling mainly by rail between these cities.
In Salzburg, they went on a guided tour of the locations appearing in “The Sound of Music”, one of her favorite movies. Jo also loved attending Broadway shows, especially in New York City. In March this year, she and her husband saw the highly-acclaimed show “Hamilton” on Broadway, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Jo was a gentle yet strong, supportive, affectionate, and beautiful person who spread kindness, warmth, and positive energy to everyone she met. Despite the hardships she endured, she rarely expressed her anguish, and when she did, she did so only to her immediate family and her doctors. In fact, most people were likely unaware of the constant and extreme pain she was experiencing due to CRPS.
Jo is survived by her loving husband of 25 years, Steve; son, William; father, Kenneth Minerich of Grand Junction, Colorado; brother-in-law, George Nakata of Round Rock, Texas; father-in-law, Isao Nakata and wife Marie Levy of Leander, Texas; uncle, Jerry Minerich of Westminster, Colorado; uncle and aunt, William and Doris Minerich of Montrose, Colorado; uncle and aunt, Larry Minerich and Melanie Shea of Eagle River, Alaska; and numerous other family members in Colorado and other states. There will be a visitation with the family on Sunday, December 2, 2018, beginning at 2:00 p.m. with services beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home, 14501 North Interstate 35, Pflugerville, Texas. If you would like to donate in lieu of flowers, Jo’s family is requesting that memorial contributions be made to SafePlace Domestic Violence & ual Assault Center, the Ronald McDonald House, or Make-a-Wish Foundation.
FAMILY Jo is survived by her loving husband of 25 years, Steve; son, William; father, Kenneth Minerich of Grand Junction, Colorado; brother-in-law, George Nakata of Round Rock, Texas; father-in-law, Isao Nakata and wife Marie Levy of Leander, Texas; uncle, Jerry Minerich of Westminster, Colorado; uncle and aunt, William and Doris Minerich of Montrose, Colorado; uncle and aunt, Larry Minerich and Melanie Shea of Eagle River, Alaska; and numerous other family members in Colorado and other states.
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