- Date Of Birth: September 2, 1917
- Date Of Death: December 11, 2019
- State: New Jersey
Josephine Francemore, a life-long resident of the City of Burlington, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at her home. She was 102. Born Josephine Katherine Fiorelli on September 2, 1917, she was among the rst of her siblings and cousins to be born here in the United States. A child of the Great Depression, Josephine graduated from Burlington City High School in 1935.
She got a job as a seamstress at the old dress factory across the street from the high school. Josephine had aspirations of being a clothing designer, but limited resources prevented her from pursuing her dream. She loved sewing on her old Singer machine. Josephine designed and fashioned many of her beloved sister Jessie’s maternity outts. Josephine lived her entire life within a 250 mile radius of Burlington. She never took a cruise nor ew in an airplane. She made no headlines, wrote no books, held no distinguished titles. She had no followers on Twitter, no friends on Facebook.
She never owned a computer and struggled with the complexities of a cell phone for a short time. None of those fringe activities were important to her. Josephine married Jim Francemore in 1941. With a keen eye, a sharp tongue and the stubbornness of a solid granite wall she proudly claimed the only titles that ever mattered to her, ‘homemaker and Mom.’ She chose to be a stay-at-home-mom, devoting a life of sacrice to her husband and two children. Josephine exemplied the saying, ‘A mother is the one person who will ride or die with you when everyone else takes the exit ramp.’
She was always happiest at family gatherings. Unselsh to a fault, the love for her family was beyond measure. As her children grew older Josephine was able to get a couple of part time jobs. She was a phone representative at the Sears Catalog Store on High Street in Burlington, back in the day when people had to speak to an actual person to place an order. Later, she was a sales person in the the small indoor mall known as Burlington Mart, housed in the building that was formerly American Foam Rubber Company.
After the untimely death of her daughter, Rosemary, Josephine became a Mom again at the age of 81. Her two young grandchildren came to live with her for the better part of seven years. She has often said, ‘It kept me young.’ Who can argue with that? In her later years Josephine enjoyed watching Turner Classic Movies, Dancing with the Stars, Lawrence Welk and The Golden Girls. As Bea Arthur said in one episode, ‘Being a mother is not easy. If it were easy fathers would do it.’ Josephine is survived by her son, James Francemore Jr.; grand children Brett DiCioccio and Noelle Senni; Nieces Donna Petrino and Diane Leonard; Nephews Daniel Vechesky, Michael Vechesky and Frank Fiorelli. She is also survived by a growing number of grand nieces and grand nephews.
