Mrs. Josephine Dawson

Sept 26, 1930 – March 22, 2023

Our precious mother, Josephine Dawson, passed away at the age of 92 after a courageous battle with dementia. But it never stopped her from living life with passion, purpose and a positive outlook.

For her, family was everything and obstacles were just opportunities to do better.

Josephine was born into the Manuel clan on Sept 26th, 1930, in a small town called Tumpat in Malaysia. Her dad, Michael, a railway inspector and mum Rosemary had immigrated from South India. She was the fifth child in a family of 12.

The Manuels later moved to the quaint railroad hub of Taiping, where Josephine, who excelled as a track and field athlete, completed her schooling and married Francis Lourdes Dawson in 1952.

Together they raised six children - Sylvia, Julie, Tony, Geradine, Fabian and Andrew. While Dad advanced his career as a military captain in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, mum took on the roles of domestic engineer and military wife with considerable panache.

Always exquisitely tailored, Josephine was a deeply spiritual woman who loved reading the Bible. Gardening, cooking and sewing took much of her spare time.

In 1974, when our father passed away, Josephine went from being the pampered wife of a military captain to penniless widow almost overnight. But she prevailed as a single mum with creative entrepreneurship, quiet dignity and an unmatched resilience to rise above difficult circumstances.

Josephine moved to Vancouver in 1989. Over the past two years, as her dementia advanced, she was a resident of Care Life Fleetwood in Surrey.

On March 22, 2023, Josephine returned to her Lord’s abode to be reunited with her husband, parents and the many siblings, who had passed before her.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be sent to the Alzheimer Society of BC

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialsurrey.com for the Dawson family.