Josephine Marie Dakin


Long-time Shelter Island Heights resident Josephine Marie Dakin passed away on September 27, 2009 at the Bethany Terrace Nursing Center in Morton Grove, Illinois. She was 88 years old. 


She was born on August 2, 1921 in Lake Mills, Iowa. Four years later, the family moved to Watertown, Wisconsin, which became their permanent home.


Josephine attended the Watertown Public Schools and then the University of Wisconsin. In 1942 she graduated and moved to New York City, where she spent most of the rest of her life. During World War II, she served for two years with the American Red Cross in Europe.


On her return from Europe she embarked on a career in medical writing, working successfully with several different agencies. During that time she received a master’s degree from New York University.


Jo loved the city, her family said — as part of her volunteer work with Friends of the Park, she pulled many Central Park weeds. She also loved the country. In the 1950s, she built a home on Shelter Island. At first it was a weekend retreat, but after retiring she spent her summers here, golfing, swimming, card-playing and entertaining friends. She was a long-time member of the Gardiner’s Bay Country Club and a dedicated volunteer worker for the Friends of Music. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Heights Property Owners Corporation.


Jo loved to travel. She and her companion, Lucius Boley, went to Europe regularly. A few years ago, they became more adventurous and traveled to Tierra del Fuego in South America


In 2007, when her health began to decline, she moved to Bethany Terrace Nursing Center in Morton Grove to be near her sister, Kay Krupp, and closer to her brother, Herb, in Holland, Michigan.


Josephine was preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Mamie Dakin, and her beloved sister-in-law, Alice Dakin. Her companion, Lucius Boley, died in 2003.


She is survived by her sister, Kay Krupp, her brother, Herbert Dakin, and five nieces and nephews.