Josephine Bielamowicz

Given 12 to 14 weeks to live by doctors in early 2010, Josephine Bielamowicz fought ovarian cancer until it was her time on June 8, 2011. It is by no stroke of luck that Josephine stayed with us for over a year after the doctors' predictions-she was set on living, but her body just wouldn't let her. This is one of the greatest testaments to the type of person Josephine was-determined, strong, honest, ingenuous and wise. When she set her mind to something, it was going to get done. There was nothing she could not tackle and nothing she could not fix. Born in Falls County, TX, on March 19, 1924 to Philip and Mary Kasowski, Josephine was one of eleven children. Without any brothers old enough for work and secondary school too far away, she finished seventh grade and started helping her father on the farm. She quickly became his "right-hand man" - plowing, bailing hay and driving the tractor until she married Jerome after WWII-a marriage that spanned 65 years. Always resourceful, Josephine, a self-taught seamstress, became adept at dressmaking and alterations to clothe and support her family. While still raising the younger of their eleven children, Josephine earned an associate's degree with honors in pattern making from El Centro College, graduating in May 1974. In her spare time, she quilted, creating beautiful works of art for her family and friends that will now be cherished in her memory. Josephine is survived by Jerome, Jr., Mark and Carol, Philip and Janice, Thomas and Susan, Cecilia, Mary Ann and Garvin, Bernadette and Bobby, Matthew and Brenda, Stephen and Pilar, Norbert, Bridget and Henry; her 27 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. We would like to express heartfelt gratitude to Linda Stubblefield, who was there not only for Mama, but for us, as well. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Josephine Bielamowicz please visit our Sympathy Store.