Denise Jodry

November 5, 1932 was the day Denise Jodry was welcomed into the world by her parents, Margaret (Moynihan) and Thomas Racek. Growing up on Mile Square Road by the seminary in Yonkers, mom and her older brothers Tom and Tim were watched over by their grandparents, Sarah and Timothy Moynihan while both her parents worked during the great depression. Mom had many fond memories of her youth, growing up when Southeast Yonkers still had a rural feel. She shared stories of ice skating in the swamps where Cross County Center still sits and sleigh riding down Page Avenue. Mom went to school 4 Mark Twain Junior High and Roosevelt High School. Upon graduation from high school, she married and had 7 children. Mom loved being a mom. She had us all well organized in order to keep her home spotlessly clean. Many hours were spent around the kitchen table talking about school or helping her cut vegetables and preparing dinner. Since mom never drove, her telephone was her connection to the outside world and to her extended family. She kept her yard as tidy as her house and we can still picture her standing in front of the house, broom in hand, chatting with the neighbor ladies. When her youngest child George was in high school, mom decided to go back to work and spent several years working at Woolworth’s in Cross County Shopping Center. She spent the remainder of her career working as a telephone operator at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in downtown Yonkers while taking the bus to and fro in all kinds of weather. At age 75, with failing eyesight, mom sold her home of 54 years on Joan Drive and moved to Elkhorn, Nebraska to be near her daughter, Margaret. She stayed there for 10 years before she and her dog, Paris, moved to California to live near her son, William and his family. She spent the last 8 years enjoying the Central Coast and its beautiful weather. Denise was predeceased by her husband Henry Jodry, her mother Margaret Petock and her stepfather Andy Petock. She is survived by her children Robert, Edward, Margaret Shafran, William (Mary Jane), Henry (Barbara) and George, and predeceased by her daughter Denise Seemer. She is also survived by her brothers Timothy Racek, Andrew Petock, and sister Janice McCarthy, and predeceased by her brother Thomas Racek and sister Sarah Vopelak. She leaves behind 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. She will be missed very much. The family will receive friends at Whalen & Ball Funeral on Wednesday from 4pm to 8pm. A funeral service will be on Thursday at 10am. Committal service will be at St. Joseph's Cemetery on Thursday at 11:15am.

Whalen & Ball Funeral Home

168 Park Avenue

Yonkers, NY 10703

(914)965-5488

www.whalenandballfh.com