Jackson County assistant prosecutor with ‘passion for helping others’ dies of COVID-19
A member of the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has died from the coronavirus.
Assistant prosecutor JoEllen Engelbart died Saturday, said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. She was 32 years old.
“Jo valiantly fought Covid but lost that battle today,” Baker tweeted Saturday evening. “Jo was a lovely person. She was joyful, smart, so kind, happy without appearing to try and always volunteering. If you knew her, you would love her like I do.”
Engelbart, pregnant with her first child, was admitted into the hospital on Dec. 23, her aunt Mary Rupert wrote in a column in the Wyandotte Daily. Engelbart’s son was delivered prematurely on Dec. 29.
“We heard from the family that her asthma and other complications made it a difficult struggle,” Rupert wrote of her niece.
Engelbart was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and later moved to Missouri with her husband, Matt.
“The oldest of three children, as a youngster she was always keeping her little brothers in line, and was very responsible,” Rupert wrote. “She also had a great sense of humor, and was very intelligent.”
Engelbart earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City before staying at UMKC for law school. She interned at the prosecutor’s office and completed more than 1,000 hours of pro bono service before she became an assistant prosecutor in August of 2015, according to a Facebook post by the prosecutor’s office announcing her success.
In late 2017, at the age of 28, Engelbart received the 2017 Up and Coming Public Service Award by the Missouri Lawyers Weekly, according to a Facebook post from the prosecutor’s office.
“It is easy to get exhausted just by reading JoEllen Engelbart’s resume,” a write-up with her award read. “Since she was old enough to talk, she has desired a career in public service. She has always had a passion for helping others.”
In August 2018, Engelbart was elected to the Missouri Bar Young Lawyers Section Council, a two-year term, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office posted on Facebook at the time.
Pettis County Sherrif-Elect Brad Anders said Engelbart was “fair, open, and absolutely brilliant,” according to a Facebook post, adding that his respect for her was “unmatched.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family Engelbart has left behind.
“She gave her all during her fight and because of her efforts JoEllen and Matt’s son, Ross Matthew, made his grand entrance into the world 3 months early,” according to the GoFundMe.
The family is asking for help paying for the medical bills from Engelbart’s hospitalization and to help support her son’s stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.
