Obituary of Josepha Zimmer

The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, London Neighbourhood, announce the death of our dear Sister Josepha Zimmer at the Residence of the Sisters of St. Joseph at 485 Windermere Road in London. Sister died on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, accompanied on the last part of her journey by the Sisters, and the Care Centre Staff. Sister Josepha was born in 1922, in Grayson, Saskatchewan, and joined the Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1939. She is remembered with affection by all her CSJ Sisters as well as her sisters Pauline (Joe) Prendergast and Elizabeth (Ira) Osborne, sister in law, Keitha, and brother, Matthias (Marlene) as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Predeceased by her mother, Appolonia (Bahr), father, Peter, and brothers, Joseph (Caroline), Anthony (Mary), Henry (Margaret), Ferdinand, Edward (Hilda), Michael, Walter and Ambrose. Sister Josepha, formerly Sister Wilma, spent her professional life as a homemaker and cook in many of our convents in southwestern Ontario, and later as food services supervisor in hospitals in Chatham, Sarnia and London, as well as at Mount St. Joseph, where she provided plentiful and delicious meals in the days when food was locally sourced, cooked from scratch, and special diets prepared and delivered with care. She was an excellent baker, serving pies that satisfied the most exacting of tastes, and home-made preserves made with loving kindness in every batch. Her recipes live on in her loving family. Josepha took pride in her skills and her attitude of service and gave herself unstintingly for 45 years to the ministry of “feeding the hungry”. Josepha had faith in her God, in life and in others, and so was not afraid to speak her mind and defend her values. This strength was tempered by her sense of humour, sharp wit and concern for others. She was a down-to-earth kind of person, focused on getting the job done and done well. Her love for learning was strong, causing her to read widely and to remember many historic details from her reading. She also loved to play the piano, practicing in her spare moments, and enjoying the learning of this new skill. Her nieces and nephews think of her as a rock star, and cherish her love for them, and the memory of her care in bringing them gifts at family reunions. Due to the current pandemic, there will be no public services. A private burial service will be held by the Sisters, with a memorial Mass and celebration of her life to be scheduled at a later date.