Omaha, Nebraska, Mayor Jean Stothert’s husband Joseph Stothert was found dead outside the couple’s home on March 5, 2021. Joe Stothert worked as a trauma surgeon.
What was his cause of death? According to KETV, police dispatchers told the television station that the death was self-inflicted. He was 72 years old. The Journal Star reported that police responded to a call of a shooting, and found the mayor’s husband dead.
He was found dead outside the couple’s Omaha home just before 2 p.m., according to WOWT. “The mayor is safe and no foul play is suspected,” OPD Officer Phil Anson said in an email to the station.
Here’s what you need to know:
Joe Stothert Was Remembered as a ‘Bright Light of Human Kindness’
FacebookJoe Stothert
The Stothert family released a statement to KETV. It read:
It is with great sadness today that we share the tragic loss of Joe Stothert with family, friends and our loving community. Joe’s dedication and affection for everyone he cared for serve as a bright light of human kindness for all of us to follow. Our family asks for your prayers at this very difficult time. We will need them. We also ask for privacy so our family may grieve and remember an extraordinary and caring husband, father and grandfather.
Joseph Stothert is listed as a professor in the Department of Surgery with the University of Nebraska Medical School. The Journal Star reported that he was involved in some high-profile trauma cases, including helping a police investigator who was shot and treating a mass shooting victim.
Jean & Joseph Stothert Were Married for More Than 40 Years
FacebookThe Stotherts with their daughter
According to the mayor’s city bio, she and her husband “have been married 40 years. Joe currently works as a trauma surgeon at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and its clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine.”
The city bio says they have two children and three grandsons together.
Stothert is in her second term as Mayor of Omaha. “First elected in 2013, and re-elected in May 2017, she is the 51st Omaha mayor and the city’s first woman to be elected to the office,” the bio says.
“Mayor Stothert’s priorities are public safety, managing the city budget, job growth and economic development and improving the taxpayer experience — so that every citizen receives excellent customer service when they interact with city government,” reads the bio.
Stothert Met Her Husband When She Was Working as a Nurse
FacebookJean Stothert
The Stotherts met because both worked in the medical field.
According to the city bio, “Stothert grew up in the St. Louis area and worked as a critical care nurse and later as head nurse and department head of cardiovascular surgery at St. Louis University, where she met her husband, Joe Stothert, M.D.”
In 1993, the Stothert family “moved to Omaha from Galveston, Texas, when Dr. Stothert accepted a new position at Creighton University,” the bio says.
FacebookJean Stothert
“When the Stotherts’ children were old enough to go to school, Mayor Stothert became involved in their schools as a volunteer. Later, she was appointed and then elected to the Millard Board of Education and served 11 years, including three as President. In 2009, she was elected to the Omaha City Council, representing District 5 in southwest Omaha.”
Tributes flowed in for Joe Stothert.
The leadership and members of the Omaha Professional Fire Fighters wrote in a statement to the Journal Star:
Joe Stothert has a long history of service to our community and has played a tremendous role in providing emergency services in Omaha. As a trauma surgeon and longtime medical director for the Omaha Fire Department, Dr. Stothert developed the protocols and supervised many OFD paramedics that still serve our community today. His leadership has been a true asset to the men and women we represent and the community as a whole. His death will be a tremendous loss to the entire medical community …