Josephine Lucia Arnold

Josephine "Jo" Lombardo Arnold

Jo was born February 21, 1943, in Corvallis, Oregon, the first child of Thomas A. Lombardo, M.D. and Lucia M. Saglibene Lombardo. She grew up with her siblings and many beloved cousins in Buffalo, N.Y. Jo was a proud graduate of The Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart where she made life-long friends. She was happy to see two great nieces follow her to Sacred Heart.

Jo loved learning and had many academic interests, but settled first on foreign languages, majoring in German, studying abroad after college (discovering a love for travel) and earning a master’s degree in German from the new SUNY campus in Albany. After a few years of teaching both college and high school German she decided to change course and enrolled at the Folklore Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington. Although she loved the subject matter, Jo decided that a career in folklore was not for her. At the beginning of her second year at I.U. Jo met Chet Arnold who was working on his Ed.D in counseling psychology. Finished with his course work in 1972, Chet took a position at the University of Tampa. The two married in March of 1974 and Jo became a Floridian for a year. Chet’s career then took him to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo where he became Director of Career Planning and Placement.

Jo eventually took a position as social director at an independent living residence in Kalamazoo called Friendship Village, which led to further education in gerontology at WMU. From that position Jo moved on to become director of a new senior center in the City of Portage. Jo became a leader in the senior center field in the state of Michigan where she helped develop the Michigan Association of Senior Centers and on the national level where she served on the board of the National Institute of Senior Centers for several years. After her retirement in 2009, Jo volunteered at WMU with others interested in beginning a lifelong learning program for older adults. Jo served as chair of marketing and then of the curriculum committee for ten years. Jo and Chet relocated to The Stratford in Carmel, Indiana in 2020 to be closer to family where she became very involved in the Stratford Community. She enjoyed her new friends and activities, served on many committees, and especially enjoyed taking care of her cottage garden.

Chet and Jo were married for over 50 years and shared many interests. They loved tent camping and wilderness canoe trips in Canada and in the Boundary Waters. They spent many vacations in the wonderful state parks in Michigan. They also took a number of bicycling trips, the most memorable along the Danube River in Germany and Austria. They took train trips across this country and Canada and from Vancouver to Seattle and many times from Kalamazoo to Chicago. They enjoyed trips abroad to Germany, Austria, England, Scotland, Italy and Sicily (home of Jo’s grandparents). Jo and Chet loved reading everything from novels and non-fiction to the Wall Street Journal, seeing good films, going to concerts and to the opera and preparing excellent meals. Jo also baked bread for many years and especially liked making homemade panettone and other Italian specialties. She leaves behind a library of cookbooks.

Jo is survived by her husband, her sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Dr. John Kraus, her brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Thomas A. Lombardo, Jr. and Donna Lombardo, a step-brother, Joseph Kaczmarski, Chet’s sister Linda Liberman and her husband Paul Liberman. She is also survived by a nephew, John G. Kraus and six nieces, Emily Longo, Julie Hideg, Sarah Lombardo, Lynn Ducat, Laura Yusick and Lisa Meindel and their spouses and twelve great-nieces and great-nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, July 21, at 2pm, at St. Christopher Episcopal Church, 1402 W Main St, Carmel, IN 46032.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jo’s memory to Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes or Friends of the Portage Zhang Senior Center.