Josephine Josie V Cerna

Josie was born on July 18, 1925 in Weldona, CO to Jose and Maria Valdez. She and her identical twin Carmen were two of 12 children. The family moved to Washington State in the early 1940’s.

Josie married Jess Cerna in 1944 and they had 12 children together. Carlos, Jess Jr. (Nancy), Janice (Dave), Joe, Mary (Dennis), Larry (Babs), Chris (Sandra), Rose (Dan), Ernie (Terri), Phil (Wendy Jo), Gerri (Maury), and Carmen. Josie was blessed to have 33 grand-children, 49 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchild. She was also considered a second mother by numerous nieces, nephews and friends of the family. From the moment she entered the planet in tandem with her twin sister she was surrounded by an amazing array of people and she loved them all.

In addition to raising her family, Josie took a job with the North Franklin School District as a teacher’s aide in 1968. This lead to a position as a home visitor for the school district where she served as a liaison between families in need and the schools. Much of her primary focus was with migrant workers and their children. Since she began her life in a family of migrant workers she had great compassion, insight and energy to bring to this job. She helped families with everything from food, clothing, and shelter to legal, medical, and educational needs. Many times she drove families across the mountains to Seattle in order to get them to doctors’ appointments at Children’s Hospital. By the time she retired in 1987 she had positively impacted the lives of countless children, parents, teachers and administrators alike in her community of Connell.

Josie enjoyed many things in life including gardening & beautiful flowers, her dogs Clancy and Snuggles, making birthday piñatas, family gatherings, Mariner’s baseball, tortillas, beans & salsa, and making people laugh. Her quick wit never failed. Her capacity to love people unconditionally made everyone feel they were her favorite. She was a member of St. Vincent Catholic Church in Connell.

Josie was preceded in death by her parents, 4 sisters, 3 brothers and granddaughters Celina and Taryn.