Josephine Mosbrucker

Josephine Mosbrucker, 98, passed away at St. Gabriel’s Community on February 21, 2024.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday, Feb. 26, at Corpus Christi Church, 1919 N 2nd St, Bismarck. 

Visitation will be held at the Church starting at 8:00 a.m. with Rosary at 9:15 a.m.  A reception will follow the Mass in the parish hall.  

Burial will be held at St. Mary's Cemetery, Bismarck. 

Josephine (Jo)  Mosbrucker was born on a farm near Center on May 17, 1925.  She was the second of seven daughters of George and Barbara (Scheetz) Hoffman.   She attended a one room rural school through the 8^th grade.

On May 31, 1944, she married Anton (Tony) Mosbrucker at St. Phillip’s Church in Center.  She and Tony moved to the Bismarck area, first farming east of Bismarck and then purchasing a home outside of Bismarck in the early 1950s, on what is now W. Divide Ave.  Jo worked for Singer Sewing Machine Co. for several years and was a master seamstress. After she stopped working outside of the home, she made clothing to order for a loyal group of customers.  In the 1970’s she learned how to re-upholster furniture and then taught classes for several years.

Jo was an accomplished baker. She learned to decorate cakes and cookies, and in the 1960s she started a business making birthday and wedding cakes. In December of each year she baked several hundred dozen Christmas cookies. She also taught cake decorating classes in her home and at United Tribes Technical College, and appeared regularly on Channel 12’s noon news show demonstrating cake and cookie decorating and candy making. After Tony died in 1978, she earned a G.E.D. and took business classes at Bismarck Junior College. She converted part of her home into a shop where she sold cake decorating equipment and expanded her baking business.

In the 1980’s Jo joined the YMCA in Bismarck where she learned to swim, took water aerobics classes regularly and volunteered for over 30 years.  She loved to go dancing on the weekends and played a mean game of pinochle.

In her 70’s Jo began traveling, taking bus tours to as many parts of the United States as she could. She also traveled to Europe several times, but after her first trip to Thailand she concentrated on Asia. She made multiple trips to China, Japan, and Thailand.

Jo was active in her parish, Corpus Christi, where she and Tony were charter members, as well as the Catholic Daughters. She was an active member of the parish quilting club, making hundreds of quilts that were donated to people in need. She also crocheted prayer blankets that  were donated by the parish to local hospitals.   

Jo is survived by her children: Cathy Mosbrucker of San Francisco and Wade Mosbrucker of Kansas City, and her grandson, Brandon Mosbrucker of Kansas City; her sisters, Irene Miller and Lorraine Hoffman-Gappert; and a large extended family.  

She was pre-deceased by her husband Tony and daughter-in-law Eunice (Berdine) Mosbrucker.