Geena Stobbe

Whether in work or play, the joy of life encased itself in human form through the love and light of Geena Stobbe. As a believer in Jesus Christ and dedicated to representing God through both words and actions, Geena’s selfless devotion to people was not confined to her profession.

Geena’s giggles and laughs with a young cancer kid on a Children’s Hospital bed while waving a flashlight under a sheet tent describes her exuberance and compassion, zeal and tenderness. At home, she welcomed friends and strangers across the threshold for dinner with a shriek, smile and a strong, warm embrace. She always made everyone know they were valued and loved.

Born Geenia Bruno on Oct. 7, 1962, in Fresno, California to parents Edward Carman and Dorothy Jean Bruno, Geena was raised in Fresno and called it home for nearly 58 years. She attended many different schools, finally graduating from Hoover High School class of 1980.

Geena attended Fresno Pacific College in 1981 where she met the love of her life, her soulmate, Greg Stobbe, although they didn’t begin dating until she was already enrolled in California State University, Fresno’s nursing program, graduating with her BSN in 1985.

Her RN career began with mommies and babies at Community Regional Medical Center and this joy was the foundation of all her varied jobs along the way: Triage nurse and cancer nurse at Children’s Hospital, home health nurse for outlying communities, call center and urgent care nurse at Kaiser Permanente and finally as a Certified Wound Specialist in the burn and hyperbarics unit at Community Regional and at Clovis Community Hospitals.

Her impact as a nurse, support staff, and cheerleader in the hospital is too extensive to report. Only one word comes close: Hero. She blessed, healed and touched lives beyond what you could imagine--an angel of mercy.

Geena’s lifelong desire to be a mom came threefold, as Greg and Geena raised their three daughters Brianna, Brittany, and Brooke. She called her daughters her greatest masterpieces, and made sure her son-in-law, Stanley Phillips, knew the value of her eldest before he took her hand in marriage, Sept. 10, 2011.

Although Geena joked that she wanted her kids’ families to live with her on a two-acre Stobbe Family Compound, she longed to keep all her chickadees close to their mama hen. In the girls’ elementary years, Geena worked the night shift so she could homeschool her daughters during the day, often going without sleep. From extraordinary birthday parties to hands-on learning when homeschooling, her creativity at home juxtaposed her scientific brilliance at work.

She truly believed one man’s trash was her treasure, and regularly circled neighborhoods during street pick-up to gather goodies she just couldn’t believe someone was throwing away.

As a self-identified nester and puttering expert, she wanted to envelop people in a pretty space that was safe for her to share a piece of her, and for people to freely receive her joy and warmth.

Grounded and cherished, devoted and humble, Geena was often tracked down in grocery stores or Target as people said, “I heard your laugh/voice from across the store, and I said ‘that MUST be Geena!’”

Geena’s glowing smile captured and drew others near to her sweet spirit, luring us to get closer and try to see more and long for a piece of what she had. Geena saw God’s joy all around her, and her bright face was a mirror, and a reflection of the joy and wonder she saw and experienced all around her.

Geena quite simply inspired us to be a better person.

One cannot go about the rest of their life as though you hadn’t known her. It’s our responsibility to take what she has taught us, and carry it into our own lives and adopt it as our own. She is not dead, but alive in all of us, and it’s a heavy responsibility we must all rise to live the way she demonstrated to all of us.

Geena spent the last five years fighting a degenerative and rare neurological movement disorder, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) (https://www.psp.org/iwanttolearn/progressive-supranuclear-palsy/). Her more recent battle overwhelmed her ability to function while her mind remained aware and cognitive. However, despite being trapped, she smiled, praised God, and loved her life until the morning she died, Sept. 15, 2020.

When asked why she acts like this disease didn’t even matter, Geena replied, “Because it doesn’t. My joy is in the Lord and that hasn’t changed, so my illness doesn’t matter.” -- Psalm 30:4-5

The family asks you to consider donating to CurePSP on Geena’s behalf. PSP is an ugly disease, and research is underfunded to find treatments or a cure. Please consider visiting http://curepsp.org/stobbe to make a donation, or to the Red Cross Memorial Fund to help families devastated by the Creek Fire https://www.redcross.org/donate/memorial-donations.html/.

Geena is survived by her soulmate Greg Stobbe, daughters Brianna Phillips, Brittany Stobbe and Brooke Stobbe, son-in-law Stanley Phillips, grandbabies Autumn and Branson Phillips, doggie Bentley, parents Ed and Dot Bruno, sister Tracy Rodriguez and her two adult children: Tyson, his wife Reann, and Allyson Rodriguez.