Josephine Amelia Bursi Hall, age 87, resident of Cordova, Tennessee, departed this life on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at home after a brief illness. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, James W. Hall in 2006, and her parents, Teresa Bonicelli Bursi and Frank Bursi.
Josephine “Jo” was born on April 11, 1932 in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a graduate of Bartlett High School. She married James William Hall on August 25, 1951. Jo loved being a homemaker, but also held various positions outside the home, including bank teller and Tupperware sales representative, before settling into a long-term position with Southwestern at Memphis, later Rhodes College. While at Rhodes College, Jo was the Executive Assistant to the President for 33 years, before retiring to Cordova in 1996.
Jo was a long-term parishioner of St. James Catholic Church, St. Ann Catholic Church, and later St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Cordova. She will be remembered for being a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and mother-in-law and for being a talented cook and gardener. Jo was a hostess extraordinaire, with a lovely home and beautiful garden, who loved to serve her famous spaghetti and ravioli to a houseful of family and friends.
Josephine is survived by her loving sons, James “Jim” William Hall, Jr. (Chrissy) of Cordova, TN and Richard “Ricky” Allen Hall (Lisa) of Memphis, TN; her grandchildren, Cramer Holmes Hall of Southern Pines, NC; McKenna Josephine Hall of Memphis, TN; William Patton of Jolton, TN; Jammie Micheal Basham (Matt) of Troy, TN; and great-grandchildren, Sean Merechal of Troy, TN; Zaland Patton of Jolton, TN; Abby Kinnaman of Troy, TN.
In addition, Jo is survived by her loving sister, Janet Bursi McCord; her niece, Lisa McCord Mergen (Steve) of Nashville, TN; great-nephew, Isaac Mergen of Nashville, TN; great-nieces, Marti McCord and Mandie Scott (Steve) of Memphis, TN; Madison Welsley Mergen of Nashville, TN. She was preceded in death by her beloved nephew, Kevin Martin McCord.
Visitation for Josephine Hall will be held at 9:30am, Monday, December 9, 2019 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church with Monsignor Peter Buchignani officiating. Celebration of Life will be held immediately following at 10:30am. Interment will follow at Memorial Park Funeral Home & Cemetery at 5668 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38119.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, 1325 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104; T-STEM Academy at East High School Music Program, 3225 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN 38111; or the charity of your choice.
