Wayland native Josephine P. Kiel, age 97, a resident of Clark Community, died Sunday, March 10.
Josephine Pawloski was born a farm girl on May 4, 1921, the third of 10 siblings. She graduated valedictorian from Wayland High School and after high school, went into nurse’s training. Always a lifelong student, Jo was intellectually curious and hungry to learn new things about the world.
She married Jerry Kiel after an elopement to New Orleans. Josephine then became an Army Lieutenant nurse, serving at the front in the European Theater in World War II. She shared many memories about her wartime experience, including the horrors of liberating the death camps.
After the war, she and Jerry settled in Grand Rapids to raise their five children: Connie (Ken) Dabney, Joan (Ray) Miller, Rosemary (Tom) Ervine, Jerry (Nancy Underwood) Kiel, and Christine (Chuck) Stoker. The Kiel family now includes 10 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.
Jo worked night supervisor at Sunshine Hospital, even while raising five children and earning two master’s degrees. Later she went back to school and gained a third master’s degree in education. She taught language arts for many years at Hamilton Elementary and Crestwood Middle School in the Kentwood Public Schools system.
Josephine was a generous patron of the arts. She and her husband Jerry loved attending the Grand Rapids Symphony, Pops concerts, opera, ballet, Broadway shows, Spectrum Theater, and Circle Theatre, as well as visiting art museums.
She and Jerry also traveled extensively, visiting 82 countries over their lifetime together. Josephine was probably most well-known for giving terrific parties.
She was preceded in death by her husband LaVern G (Jerry) Kiel, oldest brother Edward, sister Adeline, brother Leon Junior, brother Anthony, sister Genevieve, and is survived by her younger brother Joseph, and sisters Mary, Frances, and Helene.
The Celebration of Life service and Mass will be held at the Clark Franklin Campus at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, in Clark’s Chapel, 1551 Franklin St SE.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Josephine Kiel’s name to The Grand Rapids Symphony Gateway to Music program or Kentwood Public Schools Educational Foundation.
