Josephine “Jo” Bryant Jaminet, BJ ’29, died Feb. 8, 2000. She was a member of the first graduating class of Coffeyville (Kansas) Junior College in 1925. Jaminet completed her junior year at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where as a journalism class student, she had an interview that was canceled at the last moment with President Calvin Coolidge’s secretary, Everett Sanders, and later she attempted to interview Mrs. Coolidge. Jaminet learned off the record that the White House preferred not to be quoted directly. She soon realized that she preferred to become a newspaperwoman and not a teacher. Jaminet was a member of various organizations over the years including Chi Beta Epsilon sorority and the YWCA at the University of Missouri. She later joined the Daughters of the American Revolution, Kansas Press Women, National Association of Press Women and American Association of University Women. Jaminet served as the women’s editor for the Coffeyville Daily Journal, and hosted the “Society Editor of the Air” weekday radio program on KGGF in Coffeyville. This is where she met her future husband Chief Engineer John Sarto Jaminet (whose name lead to an ongoing correspondence with Hollywood writer Richard Connell). They had three children. Before retiring in 1967, Jaminet won 36 state awards and several national awards for various articles. She was widely published, including Dry Goods Reporter, the Kansas City Star and Better Homes & Gardens. After retirement the Jaminets spent travelled the world.

Updated: June 2, 2014