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Josephine M. Gladysz

December 2, 1916 - January 29, 2008
Kalamazoo, MI

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Visitation

Friday, February 1, 2008
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST
Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes
Kalamazoo Location
6080 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 375-2900
Driving Directions

Visitation

Friday, February 1, 2008
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EST
Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes
Kalamazoo Location
6080 Stadium Drive
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
(269) 375-2900

Rosary Friday at 7:30 PM

Driving Directions

Service

Saturday, February 2, 2008
10:30 AM EST
St. Monica Catholic Church
4408 S. Westnedge Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 345-4389

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

St. Monica Catholic Church
4408 S. Westnedge Ave
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 345-4389

Flowers


Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home.

Ambati
1830 S. Westnedge
Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 349-4961
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


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Jo Gladysz was a woman of great beauty, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. She was a beauty queen, a beloved sister and aunt, and a loving, loyal friend to so many. She won awards for her amazing gardens, which she filled with flowers of all kinds. Jo made the world a more beautiful place, a place we were so blessed to share with her.

Jo’s story began on a cold fall day in 1916, in the blue-collar steel town of Monessen, Pennsylvania. Those were tumultuous times around the globe, as the terrible battles of World War I raged on, and anxious Americans re-elected Woodrow Wilson as President. Amid these uncertain times, Andrew and Victoria (Borzykowski) Gladysz found a reason for hope, with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named Josephine.

Jo was the second of the couple’s eight children, and when she was just three years old, her father packed up the growing family and moved to the little town of Paw Paw, Michigan, where he bought a grape farm.

With kids being born every two years or so, Jo helped raise her brother Edward, becoming exceptionally close to each other in the process. They were an incredibly close-knit clan, good Polish-Catholic people, and Jo would remain very involved in her siblings’ lives her whole life.

Jo grew into a stunningly beautiful young woman, and was named Miss Paw Paw and the Blossom Queen, as well. After she graduated from Paw Paw High School in the mid-1930s, she headed off to Mahers Business College.

Diploma in hand, Jo found a position as a secretary at the Upjohn Company, where she would remain the rest of her career. It was a good company to work for, and she was an excellent employee, as well. Jo had a tremendous business sense, and even did her own taxes all of her life.

As hard as she worked for Upjohn, Jo always found time to help out around her community. She was an incredibly selfless person, and was very active in volunteer work throughout her lifetime. During World War II, Jo helped out the Red Cross Gray Ladies, who went to local hospitals to provide moral support and comfort for the sick or injured.

She also volunteered often at the St. Monica Catholic Church, where she was a longtime, active and devoted member. Jo helped prepare and serve food for the parish funeral luncheons for many, many years. She even served as a Eucharistic Minister there, and also took communion to patients at Borgess Hospital and Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo, as well as to the shut-ins in their homes.

Jo was a very devoted Catholic, and her faith was truly foremost in her life, the spiritual compass which guided her every day. She believed in helping those who needed help, and often looked after her elderly neighbors, ever the caretaker she was.

Jo was also an incredible aunt, who took great interest in her nieces and nephews. She encouraged each of them to further their educations, and always believed in the potential of all of them, too. She was encouraging, supportive, and very proud of them. Jo never married or had children of her own, but no one could ask for a better aunt.

Jo was a woman of great beauty, and brought great beauty to everything she touched. She created amazing gardens around her home, filled with all manner and color of flowers. Jo had a natural artistic flair, with a great sense for color and composition, and her gardens won awards as a result.

Jo was always a beautiful, elegant woman, who dressed with impeccable style, with beautiful outfits she wore everywhere. She was also a great cook, and made a great martini, too, and was always a wonderful hostess in her home. Jo was a very gracious woman, who was forever grateful when people did things for her.

Sadly, Jo died unexpectedly at Bronson Hospital on Tuesday, January 29, 2008, at the age of 91.

Jo was a wonderful woman, a selfless, gracious lady, and truly beautiful inside and out. She was a beloved sister, aunt, and friend, and a woman of faith and grace, too. More than anything, Jo brought beauty to everything she touched, and everyone who knew her. She will be greatly missed.

Learn more about Jo, view her Life Story Film and visit with her family and friends Friday from 2:00-4:00 and 6:00-8:00 PM at the Life Story Funeral Home-Betzler 6080 Stadium Dr Kalamazoo 375-2900 where a rosary will be recited Friday evening at 7:30 PM. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday 10:30 AM at St. Monica Catholic Church with a luncheon to follow in the parish hall. Interment St. Mary’s Cemetery, Paw Paw. She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: Victor, Andrew, Arthur and Gerald; her sister, Rita Meconi; and infant sister, Regina. Members of her family include her brother, Edward (Margean) Gladysz; a sister, Sister Angelette Gladysz; sisters-in-law: Louise and Ann Gladysz; nieces and nephews: Robert Meconi, Sandra Lewis, Margean V. Gladysz, John Gladysz, David Gladysz, Debra Ulrich, Bonnie Bass, Paul Gladysz, Erick Gladysz, Timothy Gladysz, and Kenneth Gladysz. Please visit Jo’s memory page a www.lifestorynet.com where you can share a favorite memory or photo or Jo, sign the guest book or make a memorial contribution to St. Monica Church or to a charity of your choice.

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