Josephine Mae (Cole) Vander Meer

On Monday, January 4, 2020 Josephine Mae (Cole) Vander Meer left us. Josephine, known as Jo to friends and family, passed quietly in her home after a long struggle with dementia. She was preceded in her final journey by loving parents and siblings.

Jo was raised in Sterling, IL and enjoyed an active childhood. She was a proud graduate of Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing. She worked in nursing education in El Paso, TX and Alamogordo, NM, then as the director of Nursing Education at the State Hospital in Las Vegas, NM. Jo chose to continue her education at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where she obtained both a Master of Arts and PhD in Counseling. She served as the Director of Nursing at the University of Albuquerque, provided counseling to adolescents and inmates, and advocated for survivors of sexual violence. She spent the later years of her career in a private counseling practice. Jo had a unique ability to empathize and connect with people. She believed strongly in community and compassion.

Jo was drawn to vivid color and natural beauty. She was a life-long lover of visual and performing arts and volunteered for events at Popejoy Hall later in life. She also enjoyed travel, painting, and gardening, and was an avid reader. Jo’s family gratefully acknowledges the dedication of friends and caregivers during the end of her life. She was a devoted and determined mother and is dearly loved and missed by her son.

A private family ceremony was held to honor her passing.