Josephine King McNary

It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Josephine King McNary.

Josephine was born in New Jersey on September 28, 1979, the daughter of Don King and Laura King, and grew up in Long Beach, California with her siblings Angela and Jimmy. Josephine ultimately suffered from a terminal outcome of major depressive disorder on July 24, 2024 in Santa Monica, California.

She received her B.A and M.A from Stanford University in 2001, where she met her husband, Rob McNary. They traveled widely and lived at various times in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles. Josephine and Rob were married at Stanford on February 18, 2006.

After Stanford, Josephine earned her M.D. from Tulane Medical School in 2006. She completed the psychiatry residency program at UCLA, and continued to work closely with UCLA Medical Center as a consulting psychiatrist until her passing. For over fifteen years, she was attending staff at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry, where she provided both inpatient psychiatry and consultation services.

Josephine founded a highly respected group psychiatry practice, CalPsychiatry, with locations throughout California and Oregon. She connected the mental health community in California in unprecedented ways, including hosting a monthly Psych Media Night, curating experts in their field to co-host with her. She also developed a podcast series, "Mind Stories," interviewing top professionals about a range of psychological therapies.

Josephine made people feel seen, understood, and accepted for who they are. You could feel this most in her interactions with her three children, Laura, Victoria, and Robbie. Her love for them was the core of who she was, and it shaped how she connected with each of them. She knew them inside and out, celebrated their individuality, and allowed them to grow into themselves with love and encouragement.

Her joyful energy will be missed.