My Mother's Obituary

I did not write this by myself. I filled out an online form from the funeral home with help from my siblings Nathan and Mardi, my aunt Sarah (Sally), and my wife Cathleen. It spat out an AI-generated obituary which I would not use. I turned to by best pal, Neil Steinberg, columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, and a experienced writer of many obituaries for the same. You can read his version of events on his blog at everygoddamnday.

Mary Jo McPherson — "Jody" to her family and friends — died peacefully on December 30, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. She was 88.

She was born on January 23, 1937, in Sullivan, Indiana. Her parents were William Nesbit McPherson, a teacher and Darke County (Ohio) Schools Superintendent, and Mary Elizabeth Steele, a high school teacher.

She was the valedictorian at Chillicothe High School in Ohio, then attended Ohio University, where she majored in English, belonged to Pi Beta Phi sorority, and graduated in 1958.

The next year, she married Barry Strejcek. They had three children, Kier, Nathan, and Mardi. They divorced in 1979.

Jody worked for 30 years as the Copy Editor for the American Pilot magazine of the Air Line Pilots Association.

Dumbarton United Methodist Church was very important to her. She edited the church newsletter for decades, and was very involved in church activities and charitable causes. She helped arrange social events and other services for seniors at Palisades Village, which she co-founded and served as secretary-treasurer for many years. Jody was actively involved in the Francis Scott Key Elementary PTA, and was co-president during the organization of the Six School Complex. She was a Cub Scout den mother and a Brownie troop leader. She also volunteered at Sibley Hospital.

She enjoyed gardening, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and baking, and her homemade birthday cakes and cinnamon rolls were savored by her family. She also knitted and crocheted, making many sweaters for her children and grandchildren as well as hundreds of small dolls for Knitting4Peace, given to children in refugee camps.

Jody lived in the same house in Washington DC for over 50 years, and generously opened the basement to her sons' various (and often very loud) rock and punk bands.

Survivors include her children, Kier (Cathleen) Strejcek, Nathan (Stacey) Strejcek, and Mardi (Alberto) Mucino; grandchildren Conor (Laura) Strejcek, Liam Strejcek, Locke Strejcek, and Marissa Mucino; and her great-grandchildren (Conor), Ellis, August, and Linus Strejcek; her sister, Sarah (Edward) Carlos; nephews Aaron and Adam, niece Malia, and many grandnephews and grandnieces.

A memorial service celebrating Jody's life was held at Dumbarton United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 21, at 2 pm ET. 

A video of the service is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTLV_y69m0k. You can read my eulogy at https://www.thestrayczech.com/2026/02/my-eulogy-for-my-mother-coal-miners.html.