STORY -- A celebration of life for Josephine "Josie" E. Hobbs, 77, will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 30, at the Story Women's Club, with the Rev. Richard Edgerton officiating. Memorial services will be the Simpson Methodist Church in Pullman, Wash. Interment will follow in the Pullman City Cemetery. Cremation has taken place.

She died Nov. 26, 2004, at her home, after a courageous, twenty-year battle with breast cancer.

Born May 11, 1927, in Sheridan, she was the second daughter of George and Mary Smith. In 1945, she was crowned homecoming queen. The ceremonial placement of the crown was performed by her future husband. She graduated from Sheridan High School in 1946.

On Aug. 20, 1948, she married Ray Hobbs. The couple moved to Pullman, Wash., where she was employed with the telephone company. There were three children born to their union, Jody, John and Wesley, and she will be remembered as a loving mother and a devoted homemaker. She will also be remembered for keeping a clean and tidy house. Working part-time for the Washington State University Student Book Corporation, she returned to the workforce in 1962. She retired in 1987 and moved to Story.

Her supportive nature was evident in the countless hours she spent attending football and basketball games, cheering for her local teams. In her leisure, she enjoyed collecting recipes, cookbooks and antiques. She also enjoyed camping and spending time with family and friends. Remembered for her sense of humor, people listening to her tell a joke were often laughing well before she could deliver the punch line.

As a cancer patient, she continued to beat the odds and surprise her doctors. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 1999 but maintained her positive attitude and cheerful nature. Her warmth was an inspiration to all who knew her.

Memorials in her honor can be made in her name to the Susie Bowling Lawrence Hospice, in care of Johnson County Healthcare Center in Buffalo, or to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., directing funds to breast cancer research, with any such acknowledgements appreciated by the family.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kane Funeral Home in Sheridan.