Jodie Mulbacher McGovern, 94, was born September 3, 1915 in Newark, New Jersey, to Joseph Mulbacher and Mildred Calik. She was born into eternal life Friday, March 12, in Stockton. She grew up in the Newark area, attended public schools and went to work as a comptometer operator for Western Electric, the manufacturing and distribution arm of AT&T. It was there that she met her future husband, John Joseph McGovern. As John was a devoted Catholic, they married in the Catholic Church December 14, 1941. She officially converted to the Catholic faith in the mid ‘50s and joined her husband in the faith formation of their  children: Rev. Msgr. Lawrence J. McGovern of Stockton, Drs. Kevin  (Jill) McGovern of Portland, Oregon; Jodi (Scott) Conard of Santa Cruz, Cathy McGovern of Mountain View, and Bonnie McGovern of Stevenson Ranch, CA. They saw to it that all the children went to the best Catholic schools wherever they lived. She lived much of her life in the suburbs of Newark, N.J., with her family as a homemaker, working occasionally part time in retail. She and her husband devoted their lives to their children with utmost generosity and love. Her husband’s management position with Western Electric led them to many locations in the New York City area, California, Chicago and Milwaukee. While living in California she and John fell in love with the Bay Area and thought it would be a great place to retire so they bought a condo in Capitola.

When John died in 1984 Jodie decided to move from the Milwaukee area to Capitola to be close to her children and their families which had moved back to the West Coast. She was a faithful member of St. Joseph’s Parish in Capitola from 1985 where she assisted with Meals on Wheels and various charities until she moved to Stockton in 2006 to the assisted living program at O’Connor Woods. There she enjoyed the attentive care of  the gracious staff at Oak Creek. Jodie’s kind, sweet and caring spirit will be truly missed. She was a wonderful mother and loving grandmother, a great role model of Christian faith to her family.

In addition to her children, she is survived by her grandchildren Ryan (Kristina) McGovern and Bridget (Jason) Schauer, Jason and Justin Hansen, Shannon McGovern, Patrick and Megan Conard and Graham, Gena and Kirk Berry. She will also be missed by her extended family in New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Hawaii and the Republic of Slovakia. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in her honor can be made to the Scholarship program at Presentation School, or to the Youth Center at Presentation Parish in Stockton.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial at Church of the Presentation, 1515 W. Benjamin Holt Dr., Stockton, CA on Wednesday, March 17, at 11 a.m.

There will be visitation at the DeYoung Shoreline Chapel, 7676 Shoreline Dr., Stockton on Tuesday, March 16, from 1 to 7 p.m. Burial will be at Santa Cruz Memorial Park, 1927 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA on Thursday, March 18, at noon.