MU student remembered for determination, friendliness

Senior Stephanie Joseph died Tuesday of leukemia after battling cancer since she was eight years old.

By Elliot Njus

Published Feb. 22, 2008

Friends said MU senior Stephanie Joseph was always ready for an adventure, but she rarely told others about the cancer that at times kept left her without energy.

Ms. Joseph died Tuesday of leukemia in Naperville, Ill. She was 21 years old.

When she was eight years old, Ms. Joseph was diagnosed with cancer, her father Joe Joseph said. Even at that age, he said, she didn't let cancer affect her.

Her father said Ms. Joseph had taken up figure skating at age four, and when she started treatment for her illness, the radiation caused her legs to swell.

"But you know, she didn't let that stop her," Joe Joseph said.

She went on to earn a junior rating with U.S. Figure Skating, and was working on earning a senior rating when she went away to college, her father said. Even after she started attending MU, Ms. Joseph would return home in the summer to teach figure skating to community children.

Ms. Joseph attended Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., where she was on the track team and a dance ensemble, her father said. He said she ran cross-country, relay and competed in the high jump.

MU Senior Lauren Talley was one of Ms. Joseph's roommates in their sophomore year. The two first met in their freshman year. Talley said Ms. Joseph was always up for anything.

"You couldn't find someone who wouldn't like her," Talley said.

But Ms. Joseph was reluctant to tell others about her illness.

"She never wanted to talk to people about the details," Joe Joseph. "In fact, she never wanted anyone to know unless they had to know, to treat her or something. She didn't want people to feel sorry for her."

Joe Joseph said his daughter had been involved in volunteering at MU. She also worked at the Student Recreation Complex.

Student Recreation Complex Membership Manager Laura Salerno was Ms. Joseph's supervisor at her job.

"She just had this great light about her that when you saw her, you just perked up," she said.

Ms. Joseph was a great coworker and "very bright," Salerno said.

MU Senior Tina Perna lived with Talley and Ms. Joseph. She said Ms. Joseph was easy to talk to and always made people smile.

"I would call her a social butterfly," Perna said. "She was always hanging out with people, meeting new people."

Perna said Ms. Joseph was smart and "very driven." She said she was very involved in her major, journalism with an emphasis in strategic communication.

Talley said Ms. Joseph was very happy at school.

"She loved Mizzou," she said. "She loved being here, loved Columbia."

Ms. Joseph is survived by her parents, Mary and Joe Joseph, and her brother, Thomas Joseph.

Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Home. The funeral home is located at 24021 W. Royal Worlington Drive in Naperville, Ill.

Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. The church is located at 1500 Brookdale Road in Naperville, Ill.