Josephine H. Lindsey

Lindsey, Josephine H.

Jan. 23, 1925-April 8, 2014

Josephine H. Lindsey, loving wife and mother of five, known to generations of young dance students as "Miss Jo," died peacefully at her Santa Ana home on April 8. Jo was a native of Dallas, Texas, who never lost her ability to summon up a Texas twang. She was a dancer from the age of 4. In her youth she trained in ballet and tap. Once she even performed with the legendary Bolshoi, which was traveling through town and needed young ballerinas for a show.

As a teenager Jo attended the University of Texas at Arlington, but left to pursue her passion for dance. She toured the country with troupes such as the Gloria Lee Dancers and danced with the Chez Paree Adorables, the showgirls for a famous Chicago nightclub.

In the 1940s she followed the sun to California. There she met her future husband, Jay, in Laguna Beach-he was a Marine; Jo and her best friend were telephone operators and beach bums. Jo and Jay married in 1953. That day, a torrential storm washed out their outdoor reception and crowded everybody indoors. They always told their boys that getting married on a rainy day was good luck. They were married for 60 years.

Jo began teaching dance students in the 1950s, and never really retired-not until the struggle with Alzheimer's forced her to give up her great love. In Santa Ana she taught for more than 30 years at studios such as Linkletter-Totten, Bailey's Young World, and the Orange County Song and Dance Company. She also choreographed musicals for the Orange County Children's Theatre, including "Little Women." One of her delights later in life was taking dance classes from Eugene Loring at UC-Irvine, a university Jo attended alongside her eldest son.

Jo raised five sons, sometimes all by herself when her Marine husband was overseas for more than a year at a time. Her boys will always remember her open door, and open arms, to their friends, girlfriends, wives, and children. She was a faithful parishioner at Immaculate Heart of Mary, where she sent all five sons to school, and a loyal Mater Dei High School mom.

Jo is survived by her husband, Jay; her sons, Richard, of Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., Charles (Jon Ann) of San Jose, Bruce (Sharon) of Mission Viejo, Andrew of Yorba Linda, and John (Tillie) of Santa Ana; and her grandchildren, Shayne, Amanda, Eve, Alima, Hannah, Phillip, Davis, Truman and Ellis.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 11 at Brown Colonial Mortuary in Santa Ana. Burial at Riverside National Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the charity of your choice. Brown Colonial Mortuary