Jolinda K. Bunders
September 19, 1960–February 6, 2025
Jolinda Kay Bunders entered into eternal rest on Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Gunderson Area Hospital in Boscobel, surrounded by her family.
Jo was born on Sept. 19, 1960, to Henry and Marilyn (Moore) Horstman. She was the oldest of five children born to Henry and Marilyn.
She started elementary school in first grade in Cassville. By second grade, the family had moved into the Bloomington School district, and Jo graduated from Bloomington High School with the class of ’78.
Jo married Budd Bunders in 1979. They lived in Prairie du Chien, a couple of years in Bagley and Bloomington, before landing in the Wauzeka and Steuben area.
Jo started cooking at an early age, and it led to a lifelong career in the food service industry. First, as a waitress at the Tafton House in Bloomington and the Bagley Hotel.
They moved to the Wauzeka-Steuben area in 1984. Jo worked for every previous owner of the bar in Steuben and eventually decided that she should just own the bar. Jo and Budd purchased the bar in 1997, and Jo was the proud owner of Jo’s Kountry Bar for 22 years. And most recently worked at Leisure Time Sports Bar and Bowl in Prairie du Chien, until she was forced to retire in December due to her health issues.
Jo enjoyed her many friends that she made through her business connections over the years. But her greatest pleasure came from being a spectator at her grandchildren’s sporting events. She rarely missed a game, and she braved all kinds of weather and travelled great distances to attend games.
This past November, Jo and her sister, Judy, travelled to Tennessee for a softball tournament. Jo was still able to attend last week’s basketball game. Besides cooking and sports, Jo enjoyed feeding the birds. She was also an avid collector of kerosene lanterns, of which she had hundreds, and she also collected glass birds and snowmen.
Jolinda is survived by two children: Jackie (Pat) Wall and Clay Bunders, all of Steuben; a brother, Rodney, of Glen Flora; and a sister, Judy (Glen) Sjoerdsma, of Randolph.
She is also survived by two half-sisters, Debra (Scott) Day and Mary Horstman, both of Prairie du Chien.
She is further survived by seven grandchildren and her stepchildren and step-grand and great- grandchildren and a very full “family” of other relatives and close friends.
Jo was preceded in death by her parents, her ex-husband Budd, and two siblings, Jacqueline Horstman and Robert Horstman.
Jolinda was a life-long member of Zion Lutheran Church in Bagley and was a member of the Liscum Brothers American Legion Auxiliary Unit of Bagley.
Jo loved her little community of Steuben with a big heart and served on the village board as the clerk-treasurer for 25 years.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Mar. 1 at Century Hall in Wauzeka from 1–5 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to the Steuben First Responders, the Boscobel Rescue Squad, or the Wauzeka Booster Club. The Pratt Funeral and Cremation Service is assisting the family with their arrangements. prattfuneralservice.com.
