Elizabeth Angela Circo

Elizabeth Angela Circo was born on August 7, 1978 in Lincoln, Nebraska. She was adopted as a newborn by her parents, Bobbi Johnson and Carl Circo. She died at her late sister's home in Shawnee, Kansas, on July 1, 2020. Having recently lost her sister Rebecca, Elizabeth is survived by her parents, by her brothers Joseph Circo, Sang Circo, Michael Circo, and John Circo, by her sisters-in-law Mary Circo and Joy Circo, her nephew Alexander Circo, her niece Alia Circo, and her extended family: the Albros, the Fictums, the Monicos, the Sabatas, and the Springers; and her biological family: birth mother Bridget Cromwell, half-brother Nicky, grandmother Delores, and grandfather Rolland.

Elizabeth graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1997 where she participated in choir, forensics, debate, cross-country and track, and the school newspaper. Inspired by the life of Phylicia Rashad, she received her undergraduate and MSW degrees from Howard University in Washington DC. She pursued a Ph.D in social work at the University of Washington. Her dissertation, Leaves on Trees with Broken Branches: Fostering Conscious Survival in Black American Incest Survivors Through a Social Work Research Paradigm, provides recommendations for healing, recovery, prevention and accountability concerning the trauma of incest in a holistic, sociohistorically-framed way.

Elizabeth was a driven, irrepressible woman. She taught herself to read before she was four years old. She had little patience for small-minded people and intransigent institutions. She never failed to find her voice, speak her mind, and fiercely defend those dear to her. She believed in kindness and justice above all and was uncompromising in realizing those values. She couldn't be put in her place because her place was always standing her ground, head held high, pointing a finger back, and letting you know she knew it.

Though her passions may have led her to brashness, she was treacly and doting as an aunt, a sister, and friend. She was a nurturer and a confidant. Her advice cut to the quick, but from a caring place. She collected people wherever she went: Dan, Ann, Andrea, Alisha, Dane, Richard, Bryne, and countless others. She would have made an excellent mother, but her only pregnancy ended in a stillbirth. Her son Joseph Emmanuel's ashes will be interred with hers.

Elizabeth passed on surrounded by family and friends after a years long battle with kidney disease. And though she left us far too soon, those mourning her take solace knowing it was on her terms; a life lived the only way she'd have it.

A funeral mass will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, July 9th at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shawnee, KS. The church requires that social distancing is observed and that face masks be worn.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: St. Joseph Catholic Church, 11311 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS 66203