Josephine Bianchi

Rochester: 94, passed away on September 30, 2011, of natural causes. Born on May 9, 1917, Josephine was the first of three children born to parents, Frank (‘Cicci’) and Pasqualina Ferraro, who had traveled from Ausonia, Italy, through Ellis Island, first to Utica and then to Rochester, to make a new life in the United States. Despite limited English language skills when she began school, Josephine quickly adapted and became an outstanding student, graduating from Utica Free Academy in 1935, before moving to Rochester. She loved music, and was a talented oboe player, winning a scholarship to Michigan’s Interlochen Summer Arts Camp. Volunteering in organizations to improve the lives of working people, she met, and later married the love of her life, Cosmo Bianchi, in 1942. In 1943, while Cosmo was serving in the Army Air Corps, Josephine traveled by train to Brooklyn, NY, a daunting trip in those days, to introduce Cosmo to their first-born son, before Cosmo was shipped to England. Another son and daughter followed, and they spent 65 years in a close and loving marriage, until Cosmo passed away in 2007, at the age of 93. Josephine devoted her life to her family, and instilled her values of kindness and caring for others. She honored the importance of reading and education, and volunteered in the Rochester public schools. She and Cosmo took their children camping, involved them in sports and school activities, and always put their children’s interests ahead of their own. Josephine prized her grandchildren, and loved taking care of them when they were young, and hearing from them as they grew older. After Cosmo’s death, Josephine courageously sought to maintain her independence in living at the Village at Park Ridge, and later at the Friendly Home, where she impressed everyone she met with her sense of humor and her concern for others, without regard to the difficulties of her own situation. Josephine was predeceased by her much-loved brother Gabriel, and is survived by her closest friend and dear sister, Linda Ferraro, of Rochester, and by her three children, Carl (Gloria) of Boise ID, John (Margaret) of Tucson AZ, and Gina of St. Augustine FL, as well as seven grandchildren, Jessica, Liana, Sascha, Sarah, Alexander, Christiana and Sophia, and two nieces, Marianne Marsh, whose visits and presence were cherished, and Andrea Ferraro, both of Rochester. A memorial service was held at the convenience of family.