Obituaries

Josephine "Jo" Genovese, 81; Receptionist, Long-Time Greenwich Resident

Calling hours will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb 20.

 

Long-time Greenwich resident, loving wife and mother, Josephine “Jo” Genovese died Feb. 14, 2013 in Seneca, SC, after a lengthy illness.

Born Josephine Brandy on Sept. 30, 1931, in Rye, NY, Jo was the daughter of Zack and Gert (Lalla) Brandy.

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Jo lived in the “Dublin” section of Rye and attended public schools there; she was active with the Church of the Resurrection and was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society. During her teen years, she moved to Port Chester, and attended Port Chester High School where she sang in the PCHS Glee Club and performed a solo, “When the Lights Go on Again All over the World” which was carried on the radio. She graduated from Port Chester High School in 1950. On Nov. 26, 1950, Jo Brandy married the love of her life, Rocky Genovese, in Corpus Christi Church; they lived in Port Chester until 1961, when they moved to Greenwich.

During the 1950s Jo worked in a department store in Westchester as a sales clerk and modeled the store’s clothing during fashion shows. She later worked at Life Saver’s in Port Chester. She decided not to pursue a musical career when offered the opportunity to sing professionally with a local Westchester band; she also contemplated a career in nursing but decided not to pursue that as well. These decisions were based on her concern that a career could interfere with her family life and her greatest desire in life was to have children. She was most proud that she and Rocky raised a daughter, Joy and son, Jim.

In the 1970s, Jo provided day care to children through the Greenwich Center for Child and Family Services, and later became a nurse’s aide at Putnam Weaver Nursing Home, then became a private duty nurse’s aide. In the 1980s and 1990s she worked on the switchboard of several different companies in Greenwich and Stamford, including Clairol. Most recently she was a weekend receptionist at William Ravis Real Estate in Greenwich.

Jo was a long-time member of St. Roch’s Roman Catholic Church. During her later years, Jo joined a senior bowling league in Rye, NY and was an active member of the Town of Greenwich Senior Center where she enjoyed Tai Chi and continued her lifelong passion, singing.

She and her husband briefly retired to upstate NY in the 1990s, but her beloved Rocky died at their Greenwich home on Oct. 9, 1995. She found great solace in the love of her family which eventually grew to include a grandson and granddaughter.

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Jo’s son, Jim Genovese, who was a Greenwich Police Officer, also predeceased her.

She is survived by her daughter, Joy Drummond, a retired Social Worker, her son-in-law Frederick “Rick” Drummond, and her grandson Ricky Drummond, all of whom reside in South Carolina; by her granddaughter, Sarah Genovese and daughter-in-law, Karen Genovese, of Fairfield, as well as by her brother Bob Brandy of Newington, by her niece and goddaughter, Serena (Brandy) Skakel, of Newburgh, NY, and many other loving relatives and friends who greatly treasured her kindness and love.

A wake will be held at Castiglione Funeral Home, 134 Hamilton Ave, Greenwich, from 4 – 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, St. Roch’s Church, St. Roch’s Avenue, Greenwich, with burial following at Greenwood Union Cemetary, in Rye, NY.

Flowers may be sent to the funeral home, or donations would be welcomed by the Town of Greenwich Senior Center, 299 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, CT 06831 as well as by Cottingham Hospice House, 220 Tucker Lane, Seneca, SC, 29672.


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