Josephine Mary Barone

Josephine “Josie” Carelli-Barone was born in Yorktown, New York on September 28,1932 to Remo and Nicolina (Gasparre) Marchi and was raised in Yonkers, New York with her 6 siblings; Palmira Sachinelli, Ranieri Marchi, Louis Marchi, Gloria Varricchio, Nicholas Marchi and Beatrice Guiffrida who are all now deceased.

Living during the great depression presented many challenges for most, but with determination, Josephine was able to complete her education and take the opportunity to see what the world could offer her. Josie spent some time in Southern California working for Max Factor who was the founder of the company that developed the modern cosmetics industry and popularized the term “make-up” before she returned to Yonkers, New York.

In July of 1958 she married her childhood sweetheart, Frank “Kelly” Carelli. Their union of 37 years gave rise to three children; Christina Anna Franconi of Phoenix AZ , Mary Jo Carelli of Phoenix, AZ and Frank A Carelli, Jr. of Middletown, Connecticut, 13 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.

In 1974; Josephine and Kelly moved to Peekskill, New York to continue to work and raise their family until they retired in 1985 when they decided to pack up, head west and settle in Phoenix, Arizona where they lived until Kelly's passing in June of 1995.

Josephine remarried A.J. "Duke" Barone in October of 1999 and together, they ventured off to Pine, Arizona to experience small-town living. It wasn't before too long that they moved back to Phoenix until Duke's passing in January of 2014.

Josie was a beautiful soul with a big personality and was often described as being strong willed, stubborn or “Gabadose” in Italian. She was playfully accused of being gaudy which was probably because she always had the biggest pocketbook, flashiest hair accessories, most glamorous jewelry, and brightest wardrobe. Her surroundings spoke volumes about her taste for art and self-expression from colorful paintings, flashy curtains, to the embroidery on her towels and the stones she glued onto her checkbook. You can believe that if it wasn't sparkling when she got it, it certainly would shine by the end of the day.

Josie's heart was filled with so much love that it spilled out into caring for animals as well. She had several fur babies during her life span, from birds, to cats and dogs. The most recent being a Chinese Crested Maltese named Baby Doll that is still in the family and has a face only a mother could love.

Josie will be remembered for many things but several that will leave a stamp on our hearts was her unique laugh that sounded much like an owl being tickled, her obsession for talk shows like The Jerry Springer Show, the ability to solve crimes faster than the detectives on shows like 48 hours and how many times she won at Scrabble even though she never used the dictionary that was always strategically placed by her word pieces.

Family dinners were a special time for Josie and occurred weekly. It was an opportunity for Josie to socialize, enjoy her favorite music, say the meal-time prayer, and share fun stories about some of the adventures in her adolescent years. One of everyone’s favorite stories was the time she hid her school books in the bushes to play hooky and ran off to see Frank Sinatra perform.

A funny thing about family dinners was that Josie always got to pick the meal and while everyone else may have been cringing at the same soup week after week, Josie never got tired of requesting her favorite; Pasta e Fagioli.

Getting older may have been hard for Josie because it limited her ability to do the things she loved like going out with friends and family, crocheting, painting, working in the garden, cooking her “Sunday sauce” and baking cream puffs.

Despite her health issues, Josie's spirit remained intact. She was generous and grateful, compassionate, outspoken, independent and always made you feel like family. Another thing that never changed about her was her sweet tooth. In fact, one of the last things she enjoyed was a powdered donut and a vanilla milkshake.

Josephine passed away peacefully in her sleep with her family by her side on August 4, 2025. Josephine’s gone home and will now bedazzle the heavens that designed her.

A funeral mass celebrating Josephine's life will take place at St. Denis Church, 602 Beekman Road, Hopewell Junction, NY 12533 on Saturday, Sept 27, 2025 at 10:00 am. Interment to follow at St Denis Cemetery.