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Josephine Vargas-Gorrell
Josephine Vargas-Gorrell Obituary
VARGAS-GORRELL
Joie was born in Washington D.C. to Henry and Josephine Berliner May 11, 1926, and passed away in Reno, March 4, 2010.
She attended schools in Washington and Lausanne, Switzerland. After high school she trained at Bellevue Hospital in nursing, hoping to contribute to the war effort, but left her training at the end of the war and came to Reno for a divorce. After a year in San Francisco, she returned to Reno and in 1951 was married to George Vargas. After his death in 1985, she and Robert Gorrell were married in 1991.
She was active in politics in Reno, working on women's rights. She traveled extensively: to Hawaii, Europe, Africa. Her photographs of animals, taken during trips to Africa, were displayed in several offices in Reno. She played piano in local Reno restaurants, including several years at the Bundox.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Gorrell, of Reno; her daughter and family, Karima Bushnell and John, Garek, and Elizabeth Bushnell all of Minneapolis; and grand- daughter Cecily Pinkerton of New York.
A memorial service for family members is planned for a later date.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Josephine Vargas-Gorrell
Sponsored by Karima Bushnell.
Anne (Cunningham) Leader
May 17, 2024
My goodness, I see I thought the 10 was the 11th! I guess I was eager to speak to you, my dear Aunt Joie. Known to early spellcheck "corrections" it dubbed you as "Joie de Vivre - you certainly had it. "Endless love" (as you always said) to you, - your niece, Anne
Anne (Cunningham) Leader
May 10, 2024
Today is Aunt Joie's birthday, and in verifying that fact, I found this website - which for some reason I had never seen before. Thank you Karima! So many photographs I had not seen as well as some of my favorites. My dear Aunt Joie, how I miss you. I am so grateful for how much time I got to spend with you when I was an adult, living "close by" in Seattle. I have too much to say, so will stop here except to say, as a child,Grumpy often said I him of her, did that create our closeness or perhaps he saw the connection we would experience later. Love to you all.
Helmut Hardt-Stremayr
March 4, 2022
23 years ago my father died, one year later Josephine Vargas-Gorrell on the 04.03.2010. Greetings to the family from Europe.
Helmut Hardt-Stremayr
January 9, 2016
I'm interested in genealogy and she was a distant relatives of me - six years too late for a connection from Europe to USA. May God be close to her.
Karima (Nola) Bushnell
December 11, 2011
Hey, Mom,
You're not forgotten and never will be. I still feel your presence, and your jokes and reactions float through my head in response to life events. Love always.
Karima Bushnell
September 7, 2011
Dear Mom, I still love you and I'm still thinking about you. Miss you!
Karima (Nola)
Rainey Day-Addington
August 1, 2010
I never thought of my Grandma Joie as my step-grandmother. She made me feel comfortable and always made sure that she bought me something for Christmas that was meaningful. She was the reason I received National Geographic every month for many years; I never thanked her for her loving kindness. She did something extremely loving before she passed, for that I will always hold her deep within my heart. I feel her often and know that she is guiding me, which when this occurred, I guess I wasn't surprised. I wish I would have made the effort...Love you Grandma Joie, forever and always! Rainey
shelba gamble
June 30, 2010
let's raise a glass to joie.
April 7, 2010
I have so many wonderful memories of Joie - the times Hank and I went to stay with her and George in Reno - and the great evenings out on town. I especially remember an evening we sat in a private box and watched Sammy Davis entertaining with his wonderful singing and dancing. .... Joie and I in our best outfits and George in his white suit - it was an unforgettable evening.
As the years passed we kept in touch via phone conversations and christmas cards.
When I remarried I took Bob (my Bob) with me to visit Joie and her Bob - a grand time we had. The 2 Bob's truly enjoyed each other since they both loved history so much........ Cocktails on the terrace - martinis of course, with olives.
I am so happy I had a chanse to talk to her at Hank's funeral - she seemed so alert - it was therefore so very sad to hear she had passed. But what a great and interesting life she had.
My thoughts are with you all and hope the daysand months ahead will ease your sadness.
Much love,
Bodil
Karima Bushnell
March 27, 2010
As I read the loving entries here, it becomes apparent what a private person my mother was and how few alive today knew her really well. Yes, she had a glamorous social persona, but there was more to her than that. Here are a few of her shortest writings:
"Autumn lovers kiss/ Cool death, waiting in the wings/ Smokes a pipe and yawns"
________
"The moon is glad the astronauts have gone/ Serenely now she knows again her phases/ And sails a cloudy sky to meet the dawn/ Untroubled by the questions that it raises."
_________
"Stretch out in the warm sun, mind. Listen to the softly crashing surf. Grow lighter, and now lighter than air; and float a thousand feet above the blue sea."
_________
One she wrote in French, translated by her here:
"A Song to Anyone
Adoration, like beauty/ Is in the eyes of the beholder/Men have worshipped cats, serpents, trees and rocks/ So why not I, you? And why not you, me?"
________
"Sometimes I remember prehistory. My senses transport me there.
The smell of pine trees and wood smoke, the dry, slippery pine needles under my bare feet, the rustle of dry corn stalks stirred by the ghost of a breeze link me to the time before we lost our souls to the so-called higher functions of the brain."
March 25, 2010
My grandmother was the perfect example of one of the two classic types. There's the cozy, knitting, applesauce making grandmother, and there's the chic, cocktail party, Auntie Mame grandmother. Anyone counting the number of times that cocktails have been mentioned in the guest book will, I am sure, be able to determine which one Joie was.
My last conversation with her was, in essence, her telling me to find a nice young man, hopefully with good looks and a nice private island, and me dutifully acquiescing. This is always how I will remember her, for which I am eternally grateful.
I loved her, and I'll miss her.
Elizabeth Bushnell
Tina Berliner
March 23, 2010
I am posting excerpts from the email I sent to Karima a while back.
This news is very, very, sad, and we have had too much of that recently. And also sort of ironic and sweet at the same time that the last time we saw Joie was when she came all that way to her baby brother’s funeral. What an effort! We were so glad at the time that she wanted to come, and now it is even more special that she was there. I have had these funny images of my Dad just waiting to greet his sister somewhere in the great beyond, even though I don’t really believe in that - I really hope it is true!
Like my brothers, I don’t have a lot of memories of Joie, unfortunately. We were the youngest cousins, niece and nephews. What I do have is based on a few visits and phone conversations over the years. I will always picture Joie as she was in so many family photographs - as a 12 or 13 year old wearing braids that she later told me she hated. I also have a memory from when our grandmother (also Josephine) died, and Joie, Bupsie, my mom (Bodil), and all of my older female cousins were trying on her clothes and distributing them (I got a nightgown), and there was clothing and lingerie flying around the room and everyone kept telling Joie what great legs she had. And I really didn’t know what they meant (but now I do!).
On the few occasions I talked to her on the phone, she was always so caring and so polite and yet direct at the same time. Back when I was in my 20’s or 30’s (can’t remember now) she asked my whether I had a “beau,” and when I expressed some sort of disgust – I had probably just broken up with some boyfriend – she very politely said, “Oh, are you off men, dear?”
Once she told me that she was going to leave all of her money to Planned Parenthood and I thought she was so cool.
So at my Dad’s funeral, I was so happy and not the least bit surprised to see that she was every bit as bright, beautiful and exotic as ever. And I do hope she in enjoying a cocktail and being "D&D" wherever she is.
Love, Tina (Berliner)
Cecily Pinkerton
March 20, 2010
Joie was my grandmother and I am so fortunate to have had her for 38 years. She used to ask me on occasion what I thought happened after we died. I would always reply that I didn't know. And she would say, " Well you think something happens don't you?"
And I would say sure, but I don't know what. And she would reply "Well I think it's a great big cocktail party."
So I hope she is up there raising a toast and enjoying the party. She will be deeply missed down here.
A donation was made to free bonded Nepali girls in her honor. And A tree will be planted in New York City in her name. It was always one of her favorite places.
Karima Bushnell
March 19, 2010
A donation has been made in the name of Josephine Vargas-Gorrell to the "Afghan Institute of Learning Empowers Afghan Women," a project on GlobalGiving.org, by Tina, John, George, and Bodil Berliner!
Many thanks, dear family.
George Berliner
March 16, 2010
Joie was my godmother. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend very much time with her, but what I do remember most was she always had the biggest smile, and very warm and kind eyes. I will also remember her for her passion for animals, as well as for life in general. Keep the cocktails flowing, and we'll see you on the other side.
Karima Bushnell
March 14, 2010
Thanks to Ruth and Pierre for this gift in Mom's memory. The message came to my email.
Bushnell Family - A donation was made in your name to "Afghan Institute
of Learning Empowers Afghan Women," a project on GlobalGiving.org, by
Pierre and Ruth Mastron!
This charity for women's issues worldwide: http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/content/themes.html?themeName
=Women%20and%20Girls
One more from Africa . . . an impressive fellow.
March 14, 2010
Another of her African photos, probably from the Ngorongoro Crater in Kenya
March 14, 2010
She took this photo in Africa, probably in Kenya.
March 14, 2010
Our puppy, Sam, one of two we had during my childhood. That thing he's lying on is my arm.
March 14, 2010
All styled out (Mom is on the right).
March 14, 2010
Mom, Bupsie and their mother Josephine. Grandma looks a little scary here . . .
March 14, 2010
Big sister Bupsie helping little Joie
March 14, 2010
With Dad and some unidentified people, including a Really Tall Dude.
March 14, 2010
With her parents, Henry and Josephine Berliner and my dad, George, at a restaurant in Reno.
March 14, 2010
Up in the pines - Nevada, we love you!!!
March 14, 2010
Mom and Dad at some hunting lodge someplace. He liked that, she didn't (but she used to pretend in the earlier years, lol).
March 14, 2010
Since John brought up the whole drinking thing . . . (It was never a problem; they were cheery social drinkers.)
March 14, 2010
Karima Bushnell
March 14, 2010
Here's Mom's obituary, written ably by her husband, a retired English professor and newspaper man. One small correction - the memorial service will be open to friends and others that loved her, not just family.
Josephine Berliner
VARGAS-GORRELL
Joie was born in Washington D.C. to Henry and Josephine Berliner May 11, 1926, and passed away in Reno, March 4, 2010.
She attended schools in Washington and Lausanne, Switzerland. After high school she trained at Bellevue Hospital in nursing, hoping to contribute to the war effort, but left her training at the end of the war and came to Reno for a divorce. After a year in San Francisco, she returned to Reno and in 1951 was married to George Vargas. After his death in 1985, she and Robert Gorrell were married in 1991.
She was active in politics in Reno, working on women's rights. She traveled extensively: to Hawaii, Europe, Africa. Her photographs of animals, taken during trips to Africa, were displayed in several offices in Reno. She played piano in local Reno restaurants, including several years at the Bundox.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Gorrell, of Reno; her daughter and family, Karima Bushnell and John, Garek, and Elizabeth Bushnell all of Minneapolis; and grand- daughter Cecily Pinkerton of New York.
A memorial service for family members is planned for a later date.
John Bushnell
March 13, 2010
Joie gave one of the most genuine compliments I have ever received. She said, "Son-in-law.. you're alright! We should get drunk together sometime." Joie was the product of the 30's and 40's; prohibition and its aftermath. Getting drunk was socially much more acceptable then, something one did with one's friends. I am proud she counted me a friend.
Karima Bushnell
March 11, 2010
More photos coming soon, including one of Bob, her wonderful husband and a fine grandfather to Cecily, Garek and Elizabeth.
Mom and me
March 11, 2010
Joie as a young girl
March 11, 2010
Joie with older sister Bupsie (Cora Ann) and younger brother Hank (Henry)
March 11, 2010
Mom as a young woman
March 11, 2010
Garek bushnell
March 10, 2010
My grandmother was a refined being, and I would have liked to see her more then I did. Her paintings, which are not mentioned in the obituary, were amazing, vibrant watercolors. I am an artist now, and I didn't knowingly see any of her work until about two years ago. I was very impressed.
A good grandmother.
Karima Bushnell
March 10, 2010
My mother, Joie Vargas Gorell, passed from this world last Thursday after a wonderful life of creativity, world travel and a number of deep and loving relationships. This picture from the obituary (taken at the end of her life) doesn't do her justice - she was elegant and beautiful, as well as smart and funny with a great sense of humor - a lot of fun to be around.
When I was quite young, she taught me, her only daughter, about the planets and the Greek gods and different types of Greek columns and philosophy and literature, among many other things. She read me Jane Eyre, The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, Dracula and Pride and Prejudice, and we made it through about 1,000 pages of The Count of Monte Christo before we gave up. It was an unusual and delightful upbringing. I'm going to write more here, but this is it for now. Mom, I love you - now go forward to whatever is next!
DONATIONS: If you want to donate in her memory, here are a couple of her favorite causes:
For women's issues worldwide: http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/content/themes.html?themeName=Women%20and%20Girls
For endangered species and conservation: http://www.worldwildlife.org/
If money is a problem, please do something kind for somebody in her memory.
Joanne & Rowland Oakes
March 10, 2010
We are sadden to learn of the passing of Joie. We extend our deepest sympathy to her family.
On the back of this photo, someone long ago had written, "Little Miss Goodie Two Shoes".
March 9, 2010
Joie and George Vargas (my mom and dad)
March 9, 2010
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