Josephine English

Josephine (Jo) Cicely English

Resident of San Jose

1925 - 2010

Josephine English was a kind, generous loving mother, wife and friend. She was born in Birmingham England on June 30, 1925. She immigrated to Canada with her late husband John and two sons in 1957. In 1963, the family, with an addition of another son born in Canada, immigrated to the United States. Josephine passed away peacefully on Monday, August 30 after a brief illness. She was 85 years old.

Josephine met her husband-to-be John in a NAAFI canteen (the British Army version of a USO Club) in London during the Second World War. Josephine served as a clerk in the Auxiliary Territorial Service of the British Army during the war while John was with the RAF. They wrote each other every day during John's overseas deployment and they married in 1947. They were married 62 years before John's passing in 2009.

The move from Canada to the United States brought Josephine and her family to California. Except for a job assignment that took John to Ohio for a few years, she was happy to call San Jose her home. She quickly adapted to all things American and soon became a diehard Giants and later a Sharks fan. Going to Candlestick/AT & T and "The Tank" or watching her teams on television was one of her greatest pleasures. A less successful American adaptation was automobile driving. Family lore has it that she learned to drive and remarkably obtained a driver's license. Curiously, no one in the family can recall having actually seen her drive. The family, and no doubt fellow motorists, was grateful that she apparently never put into practice what the State of California entitled her to do. Some English traditions were not abandoned, particularly those associated with Christmas. We will miss the anticipation of her baking marathon before Christmas that resulted in delicious mincemeat pies, butter tarts, sausage rolls and shortbread cookies - and became more prized than any gift left under the tree.

Although Josephine was a homemaker for most of her life, she worked as a teller for Bank of America for 15 years at the old San Jose Main Office and various other branches in San Jose. She made many life-long friends among customers and co-workers alike. Josephine was also an avid quilter and enjoyed weekly quilting with her friends at the Willow Glen Senior Center. It would take months for her to complete a quilt (hand-stitched only) and they represent a cherished memory of her talent and love for the family and friends who were recipients of the quilts.

Josephine is survived by her sons Michael, Stuart and Peter, daughters-in-law Pam and Kathy, grandchildren Steven and Kim, nephews Bruce Riley, Ray Stephens, and Dale Stephens, and nieces Sue Urling and Donna Stephens. She also leaves behind Suki, her devoted Lhasa Apso who provided her with much joy during the day and served as an uncomplaining foot-warmer at night.

The family would like to express its deep gratitude to Hospice of the Valley for their kind support to Josephine during her final days and to Zenia Gomez and Gemma Tayoan for the extraordinary love and comfort that they provided. The family encourages donations to Hospice of the Valley, 4850 Union Ave., San Jose, 95124. A private memorial service will be held.