Jeannee Fossberg

It's the last day of school before Christmas vacation.

Jeannee Fossberg

Early in the morning at GICC's brand spanking new elementary building, small children wave hurried goodbyes to their parents and dash through the doors of their new school. Rumor has it that Santa may be paying a visit, and excitement fills the air.

School secretary Jeannee Fossberg, the first face these children see every morning, greets every child and teacher with her lovely smile. She's decorated the school office to resemble a home away from home. A beautiful ancient Nativity set - rescued from Jeannee's childhood home - is arranged above an electric fireplace. Throughout the day, as if she's every little boy and girl's dream grandma, small children will come to Jeannee with all their small woes and injuries.

"Can I have a bandaid?" one tiny girl asks, sidling up next to Jeannee's desk.  She points to a non-existent wound under her arm. 

"That's a bad one," Jeannee shakes her head in sympathy.

One little boy later in the day will claim he's in desperate need of an ice pack. But really, all these kids want is a little tender attention from Jeannee.

She laughs. "I never knew a bandaid or an ice pack was the cure for every ailment."

Jeannee and family from left: daughter
Stephanie, grandson Ryder, son-in-law
Dean

Jeannee Fossberg is no stranger to Central Catholic. Back in the 80's when her daughter Steph and her step children attended school, Jeannee was immediately drawn into the inner workings of GICC. Speech teacher Pam Krall recruited her for the Fine Arts Guild. Parent Rosie Staab asked her to work at the school's annual fundraiser - Husker Harvest Days - and before Jeannee knew it, Sue Pirnie and Jeannee were relieving the hardworking Mary Phelan to arrange the schedule for workers at Husker Harvest. In addition Jeannee and Sue commandeered the kitchen and dining room every spring for Karnival Kapers - another huge fundraiser. Eventually Jeannee was knee deep in both the Fine Arts Guild and Husker Harvest, and if that wasn't enough, has been a long time school board member and president to boot. 

"I'm so old, I came with the building," she jokes.

When she finally retired from her regular job at the Ear Nose and Throat Clinic just last year, she wanted to retain her connection with Central Catholic but planned to be sensible about it. A few hours every day helping out in the kitchen would more than suffice.

Mike Rohweder, the school's business manager, ruined that idea.

"You need to be secretary for the new elementary school," he insisted. "The best part is," her long time friend grinned, "you'll be right up the hall from me!" 

Jeannee and late husband Brad Fossberg

No way, Jeannee remembers thinking. It wasn't just that she'd never worked in a school, but it was also that she was terrified of computers. "And I don't even have the right clothes!" she wailed.

Mike refused to listen, and his next plan of action involved Central's superintendent and high school principal Jordan Engle who arranged to have Jeannee pop in for an interview. There, facing both Jordan and new elementary principal Sarah Nordhues, Jeannee repeated all her misgivings. 

Just the same, she was aware of a small, nagging voice. Jeannee knew - as Mike and Jordan knew - that Jeannee's great gift was talking to people. Jeannee Fossberg was everything that small, scared children coming to a strange new school needed - and what she had to offer was far more valuable than computer skills or the right clothes.

What really convinced Jeannee to take the job, however, was the date of the interview. It happened to coincide with the anniversary of the death of Jeannee's late husband Brad Fossberg.

"Brad," she recalls tearfully, "always told me to believe." 

It became her mantra during Brad's losing struggle with Cystic Fibrosis and finally pancreatic cancer. Facing an uncertain future alone, Jeannee clung to Brad's firm insistence to believe. He seemed to be telling her during that interview, Jeannee believes, that this opportunity was happening for a reason.

"I was being told this was what I needed to do," Jeannee says now. "It's like the song by Journey," she laughs her wonderful laugh. "Don't Stop Believin'!"

Jeannee with Mike Robison, grandson Joe
Mueller and Karen Robison

She took the job, and if she needed any more confirmation, it was revealed in a phone call she'd made to a parent of a new young student who would soon be coming for his first day at GICC.

"Are you the lady who used to work at the ENT clinic?" the mother demanded. 

Jeannee was taken aback. "Yes," she said warily.

"Oh my goodness," the woman gasped on the phone. "I know who you are. My little boy is so shy. Whenever I brought him into the clinic, you would talk to him and help him relax. I'm so glad you're the first face he'll see in kindergarten at his new school!"

Jeannee recognizes the hand of God at every turn in her life. Her husband Brad was a person of great faith. 

"He was such a happy person. I still talk to him and have conversations," she smiles. When he passed on a Saturday, Jeannee remembers going to Mass Sunday morning. "The sun was shining, and I realized it was Brad's first day in Heaven."

Even through Brad's valiant struggles with Cystic Fibrosis and cancer, he remained faithful.

Jeannee with kids Stephanie, Kate and 
Jeremy

"I felt so humbled to be Brad's caregiver," Jeannee says. Along with Brad's mother and family members, Jeannee finally said goodbye to her much loved husband. "I've always felt it was a great honor to be with him when he died."

At one point in her life, Jeannee seriously thought about leaving Grand Island. Stephanie and her husband Dean and son Ryder reside in Durango, Colorado. Jeannee has always wished to be closer to follow her little grandson Ryder's many activities. Meanwhile, her mother and sister wanted nothing more than to have Jeannee back in Iowa. In the end, however, Jeannee decided to stay in Grand Island.

"I was sitting in church one day behind the Nowicki family," she recalls. "I love John and Jennifer and all those girls so much. And it hit me that these people and all the other people I know in Grand Island are family, too."

Jeannee's family, by the way, is pretty much all of Grand Island. She's been a mainstay of Grand Island Little Theater since 1980 and is also an officer for the Liederkranz Foundation where she produces children's theater. She also produces the Grand Island Central Catholic musical and assists backstage with the Grand Island Senior High musical. In addition she helps with the St. Mary's Parish Festival and along with Dave Hulinsky is in charge of Central Catholic's One Act. 

Jeannee after presenting grandson Sam with
his GICC diploma (Photo courtesy
Grand Island Independent)

One of her favorite groups is the "Goo Crew". Jeannee and her faithful Fine Arts Guild sidekicks - Steve and Carolyn Spencer, Tom and Sue Pirnie, Rosemary Meis and others - used to make roasters and roasters of soup for basketball games. The soup was so popular that fellow member Rosemary Meis suggested the little group make "Soup to Go" for patrons who wanted to order it beforehand for Christmas. 

The secret to the popularity of the soup, Jeannee explains, was to save the broth and scoop up the "goo" from the bottom of the roasters, debone it, and then redistribute the delicious stuff to all the roasters. One year they could hardly keep up with all the orders - 40 roasters of chicken noodle and 25 roasters of chili.

"This is your fault!" Jeannee cheerfully chastised Rosemary Meis.

Jeannee with her mom and sister

To mention every organization Jeannee's involved with would take another blog, but it's safe to say there's hardly anyone in Grand Island, Nebraska, who doesn't know and adore Jeannee Fossberg.

As well, she's not only grandmother to her daughter's son Ryder, but she also has step grandchildren by her stepsons Jeremy Mueller and Matt Mueller. Jeannee is especially close to Jeremy and Kate Mueller and Kate's parents Mike and Karen Robison. One of her favorite honors as GICC's school board president was presenting diplomas to her grandchildren Joe, Molly and most recently Sam Mueller at GICC's graduations. Now that Jeannee is no longer the school board president, she's sad not to be presenting Izzy Mueller, the last of the Muellers, with her diploma, too. 

In a unique small town way, Jeannee feels related to everybody - whether by marriage, genetics or association.

"After I'd been here for a while, Jordan Engle and I even discovered we're distantly related!" she laughs.

Santa (alias Ron Golka) pays
a visit to GICC Elementary
and Jeannee

It's those family connections that keep Jeannee here in Grand Island and especially at Grand Island Central Catholic. Like the rest of us at a certain age, she could easily retire and look back at all she's accomplished in her productive life with a sense of contentment. But it's simply not part of Jeannee's makeup. She jokes that it's impossible to leave Central Catholic anyway. It's like "Hotel California", Jeannee says. 

"You can check out, but you can never leave!"

Jeannee has no plans to check out.  Her 99-year-old mother, who along with Jeannee's dad raised their two boys and four girls, has been Jeannee's inspiration. "My mother was a giver, and I just like to help, too. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing," she chokes with emotion, "and I guess it makes me happy if I can make others happy."

Without any doubt Jeannee makes everybody happy. Her loving, contagious laugh is the welcoming light in a sometimes dark and scary world - for young and old alike. 

And if you ever need a bandaid, you know where to go.

Jeannee Fossberg will be there.