Josephine Albina (Rundus) Strnad was born on December 10, 1930. She passed away peacefully with her family at her side on February 20, 2026, at the Republic County Hospital in Belleville, KS, at the age of 95 years, 2 months, and 10 days.
Josephine was the oldest of six children born to her parents, Reverend Benjamin Anthony and Josephine (Hubka) Rundus. Josephine’s father, born and raised in Republic County, became a Presbyterian minister, filling Josephine’s childhood with the opportunity to be a part of many communities as he served different churches. Josephine was born in the Miltonvale, KS, Presbyterian Manse and later moved to Kipp, KS. From there, the family went to Unadilla, NE, and then to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Eagle, SD, was their next home followed by Omaha, NE. They moved to Tabor, SD, in 1943 and Josephine attended and graduated from the nearby Tyndall (SD) High School in 1948. She then attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, graduating in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1979, she obtained her Master of Science degree from Kansas State University.
During college, she took a year off from her studies and lived on her father’s farm west of Munden while she taught at Kunkel country school near Cuba, KS. At this time, Billy W. Strnad began a dating relationship with her which led to their marriage on March 5, 1954, in Munden. Their union was blessed with four children: Jerry, Billy Joe, Caroline, and David.
Billy enjoyed farming while Josephine continued to enjoy teaching. She taught at Narka Grade School and briefly taught at Belleville Center country school. In 1957, she began six years of teaching 4th grade in Belleville. In 1967, she began teaching first-grade at East Elementary and spent the rest of her career teaching first grade. One of her favorite sayings was, “I never made it past the first-grade.”
Billy and Josephine began married life renting a farmhouse east of Munden before purchasing a farm southeast of Munden in 1955. In 1960, they moved to Belleville to allow Josephine to be closer to her work. They continued to spend summers and some weekends on their farm until that house was lost in a fire in 1962. In 1973, the family moved to Munden. In 1978, after 24 beautiful years, Josephine lost Billy to his many years’ struggle with cancer. Josephine continued residing in Munden, raising her children, and teaching in Belleville. She retired in 1995, having taught 41 years in Republic County schools. She resided in Munden for the remainder of her life.
Upon retirement she enjoyed being involved in many organizations. A few of her favorites included FCE, Delta Kappa Gamma, and Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). She was especially passionate about WCTU, and served as the WCTU KS state president for a number of years. Her involvement in WCTU allowed her to make many special friends and to travel around the United States while promoting abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, a belief she strongly held to her entire life.
While the preceding accomplishments were very meaningful to Josephine, her relationship to Jesus Christ meant the most to her. At a young age she realized how much she was loved by God the Father and she was drawn to love Him back. She knew she was a sinner in need of a Savior. In 1939, at the age of 8, she attended a revival meeting in South Dakota led by her uncle, Amos Rundus. It was there, through faith, that she placed her trust in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross to atone for her sins, and for the sins of all who will repent and follow Him. While in the 7th grade, at Rural Bible Crusade Camp, she committed her life to following Jesus as her Lord. She loved to study her Bible and memorized numerous Bible verses throughout her life.
It was through the Lord’s strength that she was able to persevere through the joys and trials of life with an attitude of contentment and peace. At one time in her life, Josephine thought the Lord would open doors for her to become an overseas missionary. However, the Lord’s plans placed her in Republic County, Kansas, for her adulthood where she was always a member of the Zion Evangelical Church in Munden. It was here the Lord had prepared works for her to do, and she served faithfully in numerous capacities as He led her. She will be remembered for teaching Sunday school; faithfully promoting missions and inspiring children with exciting stories of missionaries around the world; and maintaining the monthly prayer calendar and weekly church bulletin. Church bulletins were a treasure for her and her love for them began in her childhood days when she helped her father fold them on Saturday evenings, eventually being allowed to type them and “ink up” the old duplicator to produce them. In recent years, she was faithful to Zion’s after school children’s Bible club and Vacation Bible School program, where she placed great effort on helping a new generation hide God’s Word in their hearts.
Josephine lived a long and full life. She lived through the dust, grasshoppers, and deprivation of the 1930s. Perhaps, in learning to make do during the years of the Great Depression, Josephine acquired her inability to see anything go to waste. She loved to save things and see them re-used or re-purposed. She told of meeting Queen Elizabeth (Princess at that time) at a department store while the princess was on a tour of Canada. When Josephine began singing “God Save The King” at home, her mother told her father it was time to move back to the United States. She remembered her folks trying to help Czech refugees in the years leading up to World War II, and she remembered her father calling her in from the front step, where she was playing, to inform her that he had just heard on the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. She remembered during that war, while they lived in Omaha, at night she would watch the hospital building across from their home. When air raid drills were conducted, she watched as all the lights of the hospital went out, except for the surgical floor where they just pulled down the shades. On May 8, 1945, while visiting her Grandmother Hubka in Chicago, Josephine recalled riding a bicycle down the sidewalk as she listened to bells ringing around the city, announcing VE (Victory in Europe) Day.
During her senior year of high school, Josephine was raising 500 chicks to earn money for college. Tragically, it seemed at the time to Josephine, the chicken coop caught on fire and she lost her entire flock of chicks. She questioned why God would allow such a thing to happen. It was not until decades later, that her brother Tim shared an amazing story with her. He was 5 years old when that fire happened and as he watched the flames consume the coop, God began to stir his own heart to realize that he needed to be saved from his sins so that he would not spend an eternity in the fires of hell.
Even without the money from the chicks, God provided Josephine with a way to go to college, where she enjoyed the connections she made with so many people while she attended, including knowing the late evangelist Billy Graham’s sister, Jean, and future missionary martyr, Jim Elliot. She remembered she was changing Jerry’s diaper when a message came across the radio in 1956 that Jim and four other missionaries had been killed in Ecuador. She had vivid memories of the day Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, since it was the first day her son David sat up by himself. She had a heart full of memories and a long lifetime of experiences.
Josephine loved being part of the Munden community. She was dedicated to helping run the Munden coffee club where she could visit with her neighbors and friends. She loved to travel. She also loved to take pictures and make albums of memories. She loved her family and enjoyed trying to keep up with all her grandchildren and great grandchildren. In recent years, when she was not as able to get around easily, she kept up with the happenings by pictures posted on Facebook. She liked to say she ‘traveled by computer these days.’
Josephine faithfully taught her family in the ways of the Lord and consistently lifted them up in prayer to the heavenly Father. Her family will always be grateful to the Lord for the blessing of her teaching, her example, her prayers, and her presence these many years. The family rejoices in her home-going, even as they mourn their own loss.
In Josephine’s own words from a letter she wrote her family in 2008:
“Psalm 16:11 ‘Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy: at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore,’ has been a reality in my life, for the Lord has been so good to me. His promise is to bless us if we put our trust in Him, and I can honestly say that He has blest me beyond what I deserve! Things haven’t always gone MY way, but HIS way has always been best. He has kept me from a lot of sinful things in this world, and I’m looking forward to all He has planned for me in the future – here on earth and in eternity! Give Him your best, and He will bless you beyond anything you can imagine! Love and prayers, Grandma Jo”
Josephine was preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin and Josephine Rundus; her husband, Billy Strnad; her brothers Benjamin and Wesley Rundus; her sisters Anita Strnad and Faith Bishop; daughter-in-law Jolene Strnad; and many brothers and sisters-in-law.
She is survived by her children, Jerry Strnad of Munden; Billy Joe and Sharon Strnad of Munden; Caroline and Dan Enns of Cheyenne, WY; and David and Carla Strnad of Munden. Grandma Jo is also survived by her 15 Grandchildren and 23 Great Grandchildren; Jed and Tranda Strnad (Charlie, Rooks); Jeremy and Debra Strnad (Hanna, Clara, Raekin); Jany and Kelly Heitmann (Jaylie, Jayden, Madelyn); Jesy Strnad; Julie and Dan Vallier (Joel, Emma, Levi); Sally Strnad; Billy and Emily Strnad (Caleb, Nolan, Andrew, Natalie, Elijah); Katie and Jordan Dollar (Silas, Joanna, Archie); Benjamin and Darsha Enns (Libby, Liam); Josiah and Kristy Enns (Connor, Rogan); Carlie Enns; Adalyn Strnad; Talia Strnad; Sophia Strnad; and Zebulon Strnad.
She is also survived by her brother Dr. Timothy and Linda Rundus, Chandler, AZ; sister-in-law Mary Rundus, Munden; brother-in-law John Bishop, Elk Grove, CA; sister-in-law Cheryl and Myron Runft, Belleville; brother-in-law William “Red” Taylor, Pekin, IL; numerous nieces, nephews, past students, and a community of friends.
Funeral Services will be Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., at the Zion Evangelical Church in Munden, with Pastor Kevin Weston officiating. Burial will follow at Tabor Cemetery, rural Munden. Following the burial, family and friends are invited to the Munden Community Center for a luncheon and fellowship time with the family.
Visitation will be Tuesday, February 24th, from 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., with the family greeting friends from 6pm – 8pm, at Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home in Belleville.
Memorials are requested to the Zion Evangelical Church, and may be mailed to Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home, PO Box 566, Belleville, Kansas, 66935.
Tibbetts-Fischer Funeral Home is assisting the Strnad family with these arrangements.
