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Josephine F. Schirra

1924 - 2015

Josephine F. Schirra obituary, 1924-2015, Rancho Santa Fe, CA

BORN

1924

DIED

2015

Josephine Schirra Obituary

Local Rancho Santa Fe resident, Jo Schirra, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on April 27, 2015. Daughter of Donald and Josephine Fraser, sister to Jane Pickett and wife of Captain Walter M Schirra, Jo was born March 26, 1924, and raised in Seattle, Washington, until she was a teenager and her widowed mother remarried. Becoming a Navy Junior, she then attended a different school almost every year including two years in Shanghai, China, where she was a champion diver, and a year in Coronado. Graduating, she attended Mills college then joined her family on the east coast.
Jo married her husband, Wally Schirra, in 1946 and that's when the real adventure began. She was very proud to be a Navy wife and the wife of one of the original seven Astronauts. Jo and Wally were married 62 wonderful, joyous and exciting years until he passed away in 2007.
Jo was known for both her sense of humor and her sense of style. She was a sun worshipper with a great love of nature and all outdoor sports. She loved the mountains, wildlife and wild flowers of Colorado but the ocean had an even stronger hold. Leading first to a wonderful home in Kauai and then a permanent move to Rancho Santa Fe in 1984. Jo and Wally continued to travel the world but were always happiest back home enjoying their wonderful home and backyard with their dogs which they referred to as their own private resort.
Jo has entered Wally's orbit now. Her ashes will be sprinkled in the Pacific off San Diego and Kauai eventually meeting up with Wally's in the sea.
She is survived by her son, Walter M Schirra lll of San Francisco; daughter, Suzanne Schirra of Vail, Colorado; and her sweet Yellow Lab, Caddis.
Donations in Jo's name can be made to The Nature Conservancy, the National Parks Foundation or The Helen Woodward Animal Center.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Rancho Santa Fe Review on May 7, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Josephine Schirra

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4 Entries

May 12, 2015

So sorry for the loss of your beloved Josephine.

ctp

Bob and Cheryl Burhans

May 2, 2015

Suzanne and Marty,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult time. May Aunt Jo enter the next step in her voyage with the vigor and grace that she lived her life.

May 2, 2015

Aloha to my dear friend, Jo. Rest in peace.
Barbara Stuart

Krista Reed

April 30, 2015

My condolences to the Schirra family. As a huge NASA supporter, I am deeply saddened to hear of her passing.

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