Obituary: Jacqueline Josselyn

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, Jacqueline Josselyn passed from this earth. She was 84 years old, residing in Winter Garden, Florida.

She was born Jacqueline Audrey Brown on March 28, 1936, at the Whitman Hospital in Whitman, Massachusetts. She is predeceased by her father, Charles E. Brown, of Whitman; her mother, Mildred Cronin Brown, of Plymouth, Massachusetts; and her dear friend and surrogate mother, Dorothy McNair, of Whitman, Massachusetts.

Jackie is survived by her sister, Alberta Roose, of California; her children, Richard L. Josselyn, David C. Josselyn (Maureen Jackson), all of Massachusetts, James D. Josselyn (Deanna) of New Hampshire, Laureen A. Josselyn (Albert Clancy) of Florida; her grandchildren, Jamie-Lee Josselyn (Aaron Marcus), of Pennsylvania, Josselyn Shatzer (Lesleigh Hopkins), Blake Shatzer, Alex Sapp of Florida, Drew Shatzer (Melissa Bockius) of Vermont; and great-granddaughter, Avery Shatzer of Vermont. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

Jackie graduated from Whitman High School in 1954. She worked for the telephone company until she started her family. An active young housewife, she taught Catechism to high school students and stayed busy volunteering in her community. She sold Sara Coventry Jewelry, which facilitated her life-long love for accessorizing.

As her family grew so did her desire for education. She enrolled at Massasoit Community College studying for an Associate Degree. She worked for the Whitman school system while her children were enrolled there, and she later worked with the Meals on Wheels program in Brockton, Massachusetts. She was deeply invested in connecting with people and making sure needs were met.

In 1979, Jackie moved to Bourne, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. She continued to feed her love for education by enrolling in courses at Mass Maritime Academy while settling back into a career with the phone company, where she worked until she retired. Not ready to be sedentary, it wasn’t long before she decided she needed another project. She became a licensed Realtor and worked on and around Cape Cod.

In her years in Bourne, she biked, walked and picnicked along the Cape Cod Canal, her favorite place. Her friends were her great joy. In her retirement, she traveled with them near and far. She was a member of the Red Hat Ladies, serving for a time as Queen Mother of her Bourne group – another opportunity to accessorize.  She continued to volunteer her time and talent at the Bourne Town Hall.

In 2015, illness caused blindness, and Jackie sold her home on the Cape and moved to Florida with her daughter and son-in-law. She enjoyed time with her Florida family, but her heart was and will always be on Cape Cod.

Jackie’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to either the Hospice organization that cared for her: Vitas-Orlando, 2201 Lucien Way Suite 100, Maitland, FL 32751. Please designate the Central Florida chapter: https://vitascommunityconnection.org/. Or to: The Friends of Bourne Council on Aging, which provided loving and crucial assistance in her later years.

 P.O. Box 144, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532 https://friendsofbournecoa.org/

Due COVID-19 related travel restrictions there will be a memorial service scheduled at a later date.