Josef Kripner was born in 1931 in Přeštice, Czechoslovakia. His father, Karel, was a farmer and laborer, and his mother, Marie, worked in several of the great houses in the area. He was the youngest of three boys, Karel the oldest, and Franta the middle brother. True to his incredible inner strength, he chose to leave his family and country in 1948 when the Soviets occupied the country, eventually traveling a world away to the United States.

In God’s plan, he met Olga Wlasjeva, who fled Estonia several years earlier during WWII, in 1950 in Southern Germany in a refugee camp. They married and were very blessed to spend the next 62 years together. Their new life together began in Germany, where Josef was drafted into the U.S. Army, and they eventually immigrated to the United States. While Josef was stationed in Germany, Angie, first-born, and George were born. Several years later he was posted to Goose Bay Labrador in Canada and Olga had to stay in Cleveland, Ohio, with relatives; Olga Marie, was born in Cleveland. Josef made a career in the Army serving in Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, France, Viet Nam, the Pentagon, among other assignments. Viet Nam became his favorite and most pivotal assignment as he came to faith in Christ during his deployment there. This spurred his many years of service to Christ and his desire to pursue a college degree to strengthen his gift of teaching. He graduated from Washington Bible College in 1978 and taught Sunday school and Bible studies for many years.

Following his retirement from the Army, Josef also proudly served our nation, his adopted home that he loved dearly, as a civilian Claims Adjudicator, U.S. Army Claims. He retired in 2006 after many years of distinguished service for which he received many awards and decorations, including being awarded a first ever Army-wide award following his retirement.

During his retirement he enjoyed his time with his family, including his six grandchildren, Laura (Keith), Amy (Frank), Andrew, Liz (Drake), John, and Rachel, and his seven great-grandchildren, Julia, Josef, Beatrice, Scott, Ian, Emerson, and recently welcomed Noah born November 1, 2022. He loved serving at Faith Community Church, especially the men’s Bible study on Saturday mornings and most especially enjoyed singing in the choir! Josef and Olga fervently sponsored many missionaries, and many children since the 1950s through World Vision, Compassion International, Navajo ministries, and other organizations. His many friends from church became his extended family with whom he loved to worship God and study the Bible.

Josef’s favorite message for all was sharing about Jesus and the new life of restoration, hope, and love that Jesus came to earth to bring:

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3.16

*All obituaries are submitted by family and friends of the deceased.

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