Josefina Kavaloski

Josefina was born on March 19, 1918 in Cadereyta, Jiménez, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, (maiden name: Josefina Alvarado Almaguer). She passed away on March 19, 2017 at the age of 99 years old.

Josefina was an artist and renown fashion designer to Latin socialites and movie stars in Mexico and Hollywood. As a young woman, she began her career as a dress designer in her hometown of Cadereyta. The income helped her to raise her daughter Annunzziata (now Elisa Annunciata Rasmussen) on her own. Her turbulent and short-lived marriage to Pancho Vitela, a world champion wrestler, had been annulled with her father’s blessing.

She kept her eye on the dream of becoming a respected dress designer. Her family had to move to Monterrey, Mexico to be near her brother Manuel while he studied at the university. Josefina found a job as a designer for a factory specializing in men’s shirts called “Perfecto”. She was the only designer.

During World War II, Mexico fell into financial misfortune. On April 20, 1943, US President Theodore Roosevelt asked Mexico’s president Camacho to actively participate in the war. Shortly after Mexico’s entry into the war, the government took over the Perfecto factory. Josefina was ordered to design the uniforms for the women’s Mexican Army. The factory had about 40-45 seamstresses to help complete the project. Josefina credits Franklin D. Roosevelt for keeping her family fed.

Josefina’s younger brother, Bernardo Alvarado Almaguer aka “Nayo”, saw her talent for design. He told her, if you want to amount to anything as a designer you need to move to Mexico City. He helped her start a couture dress design shop in Mexico City introducing her to the Latin community of movie stars, and wealthy and political figures. Later, Josefina was introduced through a mutual friend to Armando Del Moral an editor and writer for Cine-Grafica Magazine.

In 1952, she married her Polish American pen pal, Joseph Kavaloski and moved to Los Angeles County, California where she became known as the preeminent couture and wedding dress designer to the Hollywood Stars with a Latin connection.

Josefina is survived by her youngest brother, Juan de Dios Maldonado Alvarado of Monterrey, Mexico; her daughter and son-in-law, Elisa Annunciata and Milton Rasmussen of Las Vegas, Nevada; granddaughters: Deana Hayashi of Los Angeles, California, Audrey Bordvick (Duane) of Lopez Island, Washington, Laurita Chianese (Thomas) of Henderson, Nevada; great-grandchildren: Zena Pietsch, Regan Hurley, Tiffany Shat all of Nevada, and Alex Brankovic of Los Angeles. She also leaves many beloved nieces and nephews from the Alvarado, Rice, Kavaloski families and great-great grandchildren from the Peitsch, Hurley and Sparks family.

She will be profoundly missed.