Josette Marie McNally

On March 12, 1936, (originally) Josee, made her entrance into the world. Born in Paris, France, she was the third child of Paul and Micheline Legros, sandwiched in between her three brothers. The older two, Yuan and Yves, and the youngest of the bunch, Patrick.

Spending much time with her family at La Busserie in France, she gained many passions that would follow her for the rest of her life. Her love of animals, gardening, cooking, baking, and FAMILY. She fell in love with the idea of creating from scratch.

In 1953, at just 15, she suffered a terrible moped accident, needing to undergo multiple procedures to properly recover. Being the strong, courageous, resilient woman we all know, she recovered in time. Although the doctors said it was very unlikely she would be able to have children.

A few years later, she met a serviceman from the US Air Force, Leonard Trani. They quickly fell in love.

In 1958, they wed in a beautiful ceremony in France. Soon after, they both moved to the US and bought a house in the first suburban town in the US, Levittown, NY.

Josee retained her sense of purpose - creation. The words of her doctors being unable to have children iterated in her mind. As she recounted, “dreams make you grow and advance in life.” She didn’t care what the doctors said, it only increased her determination to have children.

Shortly after her marriage, she became pregnant. In 1959, a year after marriage, she had her first child, Micheline. “I made a miracle,” she recounted. Christina followed soon after in 1962; two more followed.

After years of putting her heart and soul into raising her children, they grew and started families of their own. She reflected on this gift over and over, but soon found herself searching for purpose again.

This is when she met Francis McNally, whom she has referenced over and over as, “the love of her life… the man who made me love myself so wholly.”

They wed in 1988 and after a few years decided to move to Paoli, Pennsylvania where they found a lifelong community. Josette would often recount her weekly bridge matches, countless dinner parties, and most adorned - her love of giving back. She was admired for her beautiful personality, loving smile, sweet treats and delectable savory dishes often shared with neighbors and community members alike. This giving was also reflected in her love of God.

Josette was diagnosed with cancer late 2024 and was admitted to the hospital to receive treatment & close care. Her resilience, strength, and courage persevered every step of the way. Constantly surrounded by love, she maintained her incredible smile and strong lust for life.

She passed away peacefully in her own home surrounded by an overwhelming amount of love provided from family and friends on January 29th, 2025.

We are overwhelmingly grateful for Charlie and Nancy Meyer’s, her neighbors and very close friends, who kept a close eye on her and brought her to many doctor’s appointment after Francis’s passing. They both provided decades of valuable friendship & memories.

We are also extremely grateful for the friendship of Arthur, Joanna and Eric McMorris who provided Josette 30+ years of beautiful memories and a lifelong friendship. Amazing individuals Josette regarded as family.

Mommy, you will be deeply missed by all of us. We are so deeply grateful to have known you; to have observed the joyous life all of us should strive to achieve; most importantly you taught us what love is, and for that we feel so blessed.

Josette is survived by her daughter Micheline, her son Jason and his wife, Courtney and their two daughters, Genevieve and Josaphine; by her daughter Christina and her children, Richard, Nicole and Ryan; by her son and daughter, Lenny & Natalie.

“I never thought or was afraid of dying. I saw death so close so many times - All I ever thought about was living: seeing, hearing, walking, laugh & cry, eat & drink, wake up in the morning and feel the sun and wind…. Joie de vivre” Josette McNally