Obituary of Lois Jeanne Stokich

Lois Jeanne Stokich, age 99, of Duluth passed away quietly, peacefully and painlessly Thursday, January 24, 2019 at St. Luke's Hospital.

She was born April 10, 1919 in Duluth to Fred and Ida (Baker) DeSanto.

Jeanne grew up around veterans of WWI and the survivors of the Great Influenza (Spanish flu) that devastated American communities and killed 100-million worldwide.

She lived nearby on Martha Street, and was baptized and confirmed at the First Lutheran Church in Duluth. Later, Jeanne and the entire family became members of the Lakeside Presbyterian Church where son, Theodore, Jr. and daughter, Michele were baptized and confirmed.

Jeanne laughed about sledding down hills in Duluth's streets long before they were paved roadways. She remembered cows wandering around her home on Martha Street. Up and down the steep Duluth hills, summer and winter, she walked to and from Grant and Washington Schools, graduating from Duluth Central in 1937.

A telephone operator in 1941, she heard her line of switchboards go silent on a Sunday in December, knowing then that something very dramatic must have happened. Within a month her fiance, Theodore Mitchell Stokich was a soldier, who by November 8, 1942 was landing under fire in Safi Morocco. In North Africa, he would receive three bronze stars before his capture in Tunisia, disappearing thereafter for two years as a German POW. He survived and upon repatriation became Jeanne's husband in 1946. Throughout WWII she received reports of the status and location of Theodore via short wave transmissions, some originating from spies who risked their own lives to inform frightened families of the fate of loved ones. She maintained a large scrapbook, now in her son's possession, of war time reports she received from the War Department, Red Cross, news and short wave signals.

Apart from family, her interests included "Sweet Adelines," a musical group competing throughout Minnesota, for which she made the costumes. She also painted landscapes, human faces and hands, pencil sketched and decorated detailed ceramics. Jeanne enjoyed bowling for most of her life.

Jeanne was preceded in death by her husband, Theodore, Sr; her parents; and a brother, James who died at age seven.

She is survived by her children, Theodore M. Stokich, Jr and Michele Stokich. Jeanne was devoted to her children throughout her life.

Gathering of family and friends from 1 pm until the 2 pm memorial service Thursday, Jan. 31 in the Benedictine Westwood Chapel, at the Benedictine Healthcare Center, 925 Kenwood Ave., Duluth. Interment will be at Park Hill Cemetery.