Josephine Iarocci, (née Pallotta)

Josephine died peacefully with her three daughters by her side on February 20, 2025, at the age of 90.

It is impossible to express how much we will miss her—her sharp sense of humour, deep intelligence, creativity, and boundless loving and generous nature. Josephine was born in 1934 in the town of Morrone del Sannio (Molise) and emigrated at the age of 13 to Jersey City, NJ with her family. She returned to Morrone with her mother and sisters 3 years later and then, at age 19, married and emigrated to Canada. After raising four children Josephine worked for 20 years for the TDSB, primarily at Seneca School, specializing in the care and feeding of children with developmental disabilities—work that never ceased to bring her joy. Afterwards she continued this love of nurturing children with the Etobicoke Mumsnet program. To the end, and ever-curious about the world, she enjoyed discussing the novels and articles she was reading. Her garden (an echo of the family farm she had loved so much in Morrone) was her masterwork and favourite place: she delighted in the birds and animals that visited (including the rabbits that annoyingly got at the chard) and even in her final days she was thinking about the spring plantings.

Josephine was predeceased by her devoted husband Mario and treasured son Tony, as well as her beloved sisters Maria and Angelica. She is grieved by her daughters Louisa, Bernice, and Angela, granddaughters Gina and Lucia, sons-in-law Brian McLaren, Andrew Filarski, and Ted Zourntos, as well as dear friends and family in Canada, the US, and Italy.

We would like to thank the kind and dedicated nurses and doctors at Etobicoke General Hospital.

Josephine was laid to rest with a private service.

If you wish to celebrate mom’s life, the family would be grateful for donations to the Toronto Public Library, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, or a charity of your choice.

“Something that is loved is never lost.” (Toni Morrison)