Josephine Berkman

Ms. Berkman was born in Brownwood, Texas, on November 27, 1931, the daughter of Sam Roper McInnis and Roxie Josephine Jones McInnis. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and married Donald Faulk Berkman in 1953. They were married for 58 years until his death in 2011. She worked as a draftsperson for engineers at UT Austin and architects in Austin and Houston. She obviously had the neatest handwriting of anyone we knew.

She was lithe, precise, and steadfast, and delighted in her dear ones. She underpinned our family quilt like les petites mains in the couturier’s atelier, basting together cloth with glittering threads to follow until we learned to sew ourselves. When the sun hid behind the moon, she found patterns of tree-filtered light, and tacked in layers of scattered crescents. She smoothed seams with optimism and hope. As she worked, her fingers fluttered like feathers, and the fabric took wing. Filament warped into firmament, stitches spiraling and sparkling in fireworks of color. Within these environs we danced and sang and told stories, and she beamed.

The family wishes to thank her caregivers from Our Serenity House (special shout-out to Jojo Butterbean) and Heart to Heart Hospice for their support during the last months of Ms. Berkman's life.

She is survived by her children David Berkman, Marsha Berkman, and Karen Ledbetter, son-in-law Jimmy Ledbetter, sister Nancy Krasny, sisters-in-law Janet Maxon and Alice Williams, brother-in-law Tommy Williams, grandchildren Dillon Berkman, Justin Ledbetter, Rebecca Ledbetter, Tracie Ledbetter, Lughán Ryan, and Emma Ryan, niece Lorri Williams, nephews Scott Howard, Mike Coleman, Kenneth Coleman, and Shane Williams, and great-grandchildren Preston Berkman, Jaxon Berkman, Abigail Berkman, and Ahron Berkman.

A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at University Presbyterian Church (2203 San Antonio Street, Austin, TX 78705), with the Reverends Matt Gaventa and Rachel Watson officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Our Serenity House (406 Grisham Dr, Hutto, TX 78634), Heart to Heart Hospice (4009 Banister Lane, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78704) or University Presbyterian Church. Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.wcfishnorth.com for the Berkman family.