In the end, “Josie,” as everyone called her, left us in the way she had hoped, peacefully in her sleep.
Josie, born September 23, 1920, in Sydney Mines, NS, lived and experienced an incredible life: the Great Depression, WWII, the introduction of indoor plumbing, a man on the moon, computers from the size of rooms to smartphones and tablets, model T’s to electric Tesla’s, cumbersome finger dial phones and party lines to telephones that fit into the palm of your hand, from written letter communication to video chats and text messages to anyone anywhere in the world. Josie remained grateful and humble through all this chaos, advancement, and change. She desired the simplest of pleasures, a box of See’s mixed nuts and dark chocolates made her very happy. She opted for a push lawn mower over an electric one or a landscaper. She could out shovel the snow removal companies. All she needed was a bus pass, never a driver’s licence, or a uber account to get around. She was happily independent, self-reliant and never complained.
Josie was born to German immigrants Antoinette and Josef Ceglarz. Not long after arriving in Canada, Antoinette was widowed, leaving her to raise the five children independently. Josie was the middle child. The family moved to Saskatchewan and eventually settled in Humboldt. There Josie began working as a waitress in the Princess Café for the man she would eventually marry, Charlie Jim Der. After Humboldt, Josie and Charlie Jim owned and operated cafes in Edmonton, Rosetown and finally in Watson. They ran the Watson café without any hired help for 15 years before retiring in 1977 in Saskatoon.
Josie’s retirement did not last long. It was 14 days. Idle was not her style.
She began working at the Holiday Inn coffee shop, now the Hilton Garden Inn, in downtown Saskatoon. The hotel changed hands several times, but never Josie. Josie treated the hotels as if she owned them but in an admirable way. She always ensured her task was completed regardless of her formal shift and never asked for overtime pay. She would arrive early to get a head start on the day and stay way past punch-out time. In 2008, Josie was honoured by Hilton Hotels with a special award at their annual meeting in Beverly Hills, California. The Saskatoon Hilton Garden Inn named their rooftop patio restaurant “Josie’s Deck” to honour their exceptional employee. She remained a faithful and full-time employee of the different hotel owners until she eventually retired in 2012 at the astounding age of 92.
Josie’s start in life was meagre and humble. She left school at age 13 to work full time to help support her family. She never shied from hard work; she thrived on it. Her strong work ethic and positive attitude were her iconic qualities. People of all walks of life were drawn to her, respected her, and revered her because she refreshingly lived a life without judgment of age, race, religion or colour. She had a delightful kind heart. Her secret to staying young, healthy, and ever so clever was always doing and being constantly in motion. She was up to date on politics and sporting events, often relating her critique of a baseball or hockey game she was watching. She never spoke of loneliness, but we suspect the stray dog or two she took in and cared for like a child (even feeding them her delicious apple pie) filled any void.
Josie loved and appreciated her two sons, Jim (Regina) and Balfour (Calgary), three grandsons Russell (San Diego), Justin (San Diego) and Mitchell (Regina), five great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews and, of course, a lifetime of friends and customers.
Despite Charlie Jim having the café cooking duties, Josie excelled in the kitchen. She loved cooking and regularly had her neighbours over for roast beef dinners. Working from her small home kitchen, Josie was known for baking, especially her pies, apple being the fan-favourite. Sometimes on the weekend, she would bake 20 after taking the bus to the grocery store and lugging back the ingredients. Can you imagine how many pounds she carried and apples she peeled by hand? Always one to share, many different people were recipients of Josie’s pies, including her friends, staff at the hotel, bus drivers, neighbours and others who would cross her path. Josie felt pride and joy when people would ask for another pie in advance of the next batch. She was always happy to accommodate the requests.
Josie’s niece Gail (age 69) sums up beautifully the essence of Josie we will hold dear in our hearts: “Josie was the multi-faceted jewel our family was so fortunate to have. The beauty of her personality and her love will gleam in our hearts forever. Her values and happiness carried her through life and demonstrated what we should strive to be. As for me, when I grow up, I hope I can be a little like her.”
Josie lived 42 years longer than the love of her life, Charlie Jim, who passed in 1980. Despite her love of life and desire to keep going, she pined to join her beloved. Finally, Josie is at deserved rest after an incredibly long, successful, arduous and whole life. May she find comfort at Charlie Jim’s side until we cross paths with her again, in another place, another lifetime.
A Graveside Service will be held July 2, at 10:30 am at the Woodlawn Cemetery Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Josie never fussed over gifts and flowers. The local Food Bank will welcome a donation if you share her love of food and empathy for those less fortunate.
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