Josephine B. Schmidt

On June 1st, 2017, Josephine Schmidt of Spring Valley, California passed away peacefully in the company of family. Josephine was born in Paterson, New Jersey and attended Eastside High School. She met and later married her future spouse of 59 years, Robert Schmidt. Josephine belonged to that Greatest Generation we owe so much to. All of her life, she was the living example of one who keeps the home fires burning, of the dutiful mother of seven, the navy wife with equal parts equanimity, an uncanny memory for history and United States policy, and a natural inclination for all things art. Josephine had a positive gift for recalling musical lyrics and always had music playing in her home (whether it was her taste or not). Later in life, she was an active member and arranger of chorale groups most recently the Norman Park Singing Seniors. House chores were always done singing or with conversation. Josephine always found the time to relate individually with her children as well as en masse for functions. She was quite simply the most outstanding mother anyone could ask for.

Josephine moved, children in tow, up and down both coasts of the United States as her husband's duty stations presented themselves with overseas assignments. She embodied the approachable but worldly American serving her country in a manner that broke through barriers and produced positive, working and honest relationships with social counterparts that filtered through political tensions of the 1960s in the pursuit of alliances and friendly relations in a region where Americans were viewed with suspicion. The duty tenure in Southeast Asia produced such good relationships that Josephine and Robert were asked to remain in country. Josephine was fluent in Italian, Sicilian, and Indonesian. Our father often said Josephine shared equally in any service-related accolades.

Josephine remained true to her nature, a cheerful loving force with a sense of humor, a tackler of problems, an open and vigilant mind with a desire to propagate equality and women's rights and opportunities for women via higher education. Josephine started her working life as a file clerk for American Telephone & Telegraph in New York City and learnt the importance of investing in stock options. This produced a lifelong interest in business often selecting avenues such as investments in communications. Always smiling, her outgoing personality and articulate recall of facts, numbers, and data led to a most rewarding position as the go-to information clerk at San Diego State University bookstore helping young people navigate the overwhelming environment of that institution. She retired from San Diego State in 1985.

Josephine spent many of her later years snow birding between San Diego and central Oregon. Each summer, she spent time with a beloved sister. She enjoyed attending water color classes at the Sagebrushers Art Society and accompanying Robert on thrice weekly trout fishing expeditions. While dad fished, Josephine painted, capturing the spender of the high desert, Smith Rock, riparian subjects, and the cherished atmosphere of many barns.

Boldly in life with travel, happy in marriage with a man who always called Josephine his bride, our mother was an example and a guiding force in so many ways. As a wife who enjoyed her husband's company either by taking night classes with him in dance, or business, or U.S. History, or doing quiet parallel activities at home in the living room, or by a river, she was by his side at his end and told him what a great time she had being with him.

A rare individual, Josephine is survived by her sister June Clark of Redmond, Oregon, her brother-in-law Francis Schmidt of Cape Charles, Virginia, her daughters Joanne, Linda, Paula, Elaine, Jeanne, Carolyn, and Terry, 13 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews, cousins and childhood friends.