Josephine Friesenhahn

Josephine (Josie) Friesenhahn was born on December 10th of 1931 in the Yugoslavian village of Preko, a small town located across the shores of Zadar, Croatia. Josie would go on to become a wife, a mother, and a nana; she was a woman who would positively impact the lives of everyone she encountered.

Josie originated from a large Croatian family; her parents, Marko and Simica Soric, had nine children, Josephine being the third youngest. Her name Josephine is the English version of her birth name Joska. She shares this name with one of her sisters, who died as a young child the same day that Josie was born. All of her siblings preceded her in death, and she now joins her parents, brothers, and sisters in Heaven.

As a young girl, Joska lived on the island of Ugljan, a land hugged by the turquoise-clear waters of the Adriatic Sea and dusted with olive trees, cobblestone streets, and ancient Roman ruins. It was during her youth that Josie overcame many trials and tribulations and where her foundation of faith, perseverance, and community was built. Joska’s childhood was marked by a close-knit family, hard work, and a relationship with the natural world. Her daily life included working in the vineyards and olive groves, but her passion for cooking stemmed from her winemaking, fishing, and baking of breads in communal ovens. To help the family earn money, Joska assisted her mother in doing the laundry of wealthier families, carrying baskets of clothes balanced atop her head, scrubbing clothes in a natural pool either on wooden washboards or stones alongside other women in the village. Joska loved to sing at church, religion being an integral part of her life starting in her young age. During these years, Joska also learned how to sew and became a skilled seamstress, which is a passion that she would carry with her and share with her grandchildren. Joska’s profound work ethic and enduring strength rooted in her childhood would continue to shine through well into her old age.

Joska endured great hardship in her adolescent years, directly experiencing and surviving the tragedies of World War II. Their lives changed dramatically when three world superpowers occupied their home island. First, the Italians impressed their language and customs onto her village, although Joska admittedly found the new language to be quite beautiful. During the German invasion, soldiers overtook her home, forcing Joska and her family to cook and clean for the troops. Finally, the arrival of the Americans brought much needed food and the end of the war. Joska can recall surviving bombings, starvation, artillery barrages, and even a near death experience in front of a German firing squad. Despite the darkness of these times, Joska would happily tell her story of survival to anyone that would listen, inspiring strangers and friends alike.

After the war ended, several of her brothers immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. However, the communist government required Joska to stay to reform a broken Yugoslavia and took Joska away from her family to rebuild roads. Although she sought to join her brothers in the U.S., she had to wait ten years before the Tito government approved her request to leave the country. In January of 1960, Joska finally departed for the U.S. toward the hope and promise of a new life. To Joska, the American Dream was a bright horizon, an honor and blessing, one that she never took for granted. Joska could vividly recount the first time seeing the United States from the deck of the ship she had immigrated on, passing before the Statue of Liberty in all its splendor and knowing that despite the odds, she had made it.

Joska’s new life in the United States began in Chicago staying with her brother John’s family and working as a seamstress doing piecework in a sweatshop earning cents an hour. Some months later, Josie went to visit her brother Victor and his wife Jean in California and fell in love with the temperature climate that was much like Croatia and decided to stay.

Not long after arriving in California, Josie attended a Catholic social event in April of 1962 where she met her future husband Herman (Buzz) Friesenhahn, a Texas cowboy that understood the meaning of hard work, humble beginnings, and humility. Josie admired the genuine nature of Buzz, who was happy to share how he cared for his prized 4H turkeys. After asking Josie to the May Dance, to which she replied “maybe”, Herman never stopped pursuing her, enamored by her authenticity and beauty. Their relationship quickly blossomed; they became engaged on July 4, 1962, and married four months later on November 10th. The newly married couple settled in Redondo Beach, California, where they had their first child Mary Ann in September of 1963, followed by Julie in December of 1964 and Erik in July of 1967. The family later moved to Seal Beach, California in July 1967 and lived there for the next three decades. Buzz and Josie remained married for 62 years, a testament to their unconditional love for one another, a love that, to this day, is inextinguishable even in her passing.

Josie’s passion was as a caregiver and homemaker, looking after her husband Buzz, their three children, and their assorted dogs and cats. She loved to prepare wonderful meals, many of which were tasty Croatian delicacies. She frequently sewed clothes for herself and her children, including making her kids’ Halloween costumes and even special attire fit for the 80’s discos.

Wherever Josie went, she kept a beautiful garden. She nurtured an abundance of vegetables, a variety of fruit trees, and of course, roses, which brought her great pride and joy. Plums (her favorite), cherries, and pears would overflow from her yard. Josie took everything in her life and made the absolute most of whatever she had.

Over the years, the family took many road trips in their Pontiac station wagon as they crisscrossed the Western states. Countless adventures (and misadventures) left lasting memories for the family. Josie made every house (and station wagon) a home, sewing curtains by hand and always preparing wonderful meals, even over campfires miles away from the nearest kitchen.

After many years and countless adventures in California, Josie and Buzz moved to Fort Collins, Colorado in 1999 to be near their daughters and grandchildren. Josie resumed her joy of caring for children, helping take care of Julie’s children Bryce and Jillian and later Mary Ann’s children Tessa and Brenna. The grandchildren spent much quality time with Josie and Buzz, their beloved Nana and Opa. Josie always shared her talent for baking, passed down many Croatian recipes and sewed blankets with her granddaughters. During Christmas, she would make a traditional Croatian toast with Rakija liquor in hand before serving her famous prime rib dinners to her entire family.

Josie was a social butterfly who easily made friends with everyone she encountered. Each year, she and Buzz took trips to visit their relatives and close friends, frequenting cruises and cross-country road trips. On such adventures, they would stop in Las Vegas where Josie spiritedly enjoyed the slot machines, somehow always managing to come out on top. Buzz and Josie lived a wholesome life, filled with great friends and quality memories with those they cherish.

Throughout her life, faith remained an integral part of who Josie was. Every obstacle overcome and each blessing of life, she attributed to the grace of God and prayed the Rosary every night. Josie always practiced her Catholicism and embraced Jesus’ command to love one another as God loved her, spreading warmth and kindness to all she knew. It is only fitting that she passed from this world into Heaven with a Rosary in her hand.

Josie made a profound impact on everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her. Her incredible story of love, compassion, and resilience in the face of great adversity will live on in the hearts of family, children and grandchildren for generations to come. Josie extended her selflessness and loving heart to anyone and everyone, whether that be strangers or close friends. To know Josie was to know unconditional love, compassionate care, and a robust life that was well lived. In this life and the next until we meet again – Josie: a mother, a wife, a nana; you are so loved, just as you so greatly loved others.

On November 15, 2024, Josie’s family held a private Mass and graveside service and laid Josie to rest surrounded by the roses she loved. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations go to Children’s Hospital as per Josie’s wishes.