Josephine (Prestia) Sipocz

Josephine Sipocz passed from this life on Saturday, December 27, 2025. She was born in Buffalo to Vincent Prestia and Catherine Incorvaia on July 22, 1936. She graduated from the Sacred Heart Academy in 1954, and joined the Air Force shortly after that. Mom served as a stewardess on military flights that traveled around the Pacific, including Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, and South Korea. She was based in Tacoma, Washington. There she met airman Stephen Frank Sipocz, and they were married in South Bend on August 29, 1959. With their first child on the way, Mom left the service. Mom raised 5 children through difficult times, but always managed to hold things together. The Air Force sent us from California to Tacoma, Washington, to Mount Clemens, Michigan, to Grand Island, Nebraska, to Great Falls, Montana, to Rome, New York, to Sanborn, New York. to Limestone, Maine, and then to South Bend, Indiana. Dad was set to retire at the beginning of 1976, so Mom said she wouldn’t spend another winter in the epically freezing Limestone, so in the Summer of 1975 we came to South Bend and they bought the house that Mom lived in for over 50 years. Mom worked at home until 1978 when she started working at the South Bend Tribune. Mom retired from the Tribune after 20 years.

Mom was predeceased by her parents, her husband Stephen Frank Sipocz, her daughter Katherine Anna Marie Garwood, and her brother Michael Prestia. She leaves behind a brother Raymond Prestia (in Cordoba, Spain), Katie’s husband Mark Garwood, her sons Joseph (Ellen), Stephen (Jill), and Andy (Wendy), and her daughter Jennifer Reith (Bruce), and her grandchildren Olivia, Lillian, Eric (Samantha), Blake, Isabelle, Peter, Paige Reistle (Travis), Jane Reistle, Gage Garwood (Kaitlyn), Dana Garwood (Gavin), Kelly Garwood, Lauren Garwood, Kelvin Reith (Emily), and Karina Reith (Caleb), and her great-grandchildren Jamison and Amelia Garwood. 

Mom had a green thumb, loved all the holidays, and was really good at taking well-balanced photographs. Mom was proud of her military service and liked to tell stories of her adventures. Mom was good with money, for example making double payments on the mortgage of the home to pay it off early. Mom was a long-time member of the St John the Baptist Rosary Society, and near the end of her life she greatly looked forward to going to church on Sundays. She enjoyed reading historical fiction and cozy mysteries.

On behalf of the family, we would like to thank the ladies at Home Instead including Brittany, Cheryl, Jade, Myoung, and Kim, and the staff of Ascent Hospice, especially Varvara and Laura, all of whom allowed Mom to stay in her home until the end.

A viewing for Josephine will be held from 5:00pm-7:00pm Sunday, January 4, 2025 at St. Joseph Funeral Home, 824 S Mayflower Rd, South Bend, with a Rosary to be prayed at 5:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00am on Monday, January 5, 2025 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 3526 St. John’s Way, South Bend, IN 46628. Burial with military honors will immediately follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, South Bend.

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