Josephine (Josie) Wilson Wilshere passed away at her Ajijic home January 30 at the age of 89.
Born July 5, 1923, in Lincoln, England to a musically gifted family, Josie served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, working in the highly secretive radar stations that played such a critical role during the Battle of Britain.
Like many Britons after the war, she moved with her family to the far flung reaches of the Commonwealth looking for new opportunities. She taught Latin at an East Indian private high school in Kampala, Uganda from 1952 to 1954. One of her favorite memories was as a special guest at a university garden party with Queen Elizabeth II, who only 24 hours prior had become queen while on a Royal Tour at Treetops in Kenya.
She and her two sons moved to Montreal, Canada, in 1954, where her violinist brother Basil, and his wife Vera lived. There she taught elementary school, and learned to live in a dramatically different climate. The following years saw her teaching in many places in Ontario and Quebec and in 1962 she was featured in a full page article in the Toronto Star, celebrating her position as the first female public high school principal in Ontario. Subsequently she relocated to several communities in Manitoba, rising to become Director of Education for a large school district. She was loved and respected by all her students and her teachers. As a devoted grandmother she dedicated huge amounts of her time and love to her three grandchildren.
Somehow Josie’s sense of adventure never left her, as she also managed a two-year teaching engagement in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, followed by a six-month-long return journey through the Far East, reminiscent of a university student’s travels. In the late 90’s, tired of having little to occupy herself in Toronto, she decided to make her first visit to the part of the world she came to call home, a place she fell in love with – Ajijic. She donated her time to a Mexican orphanage, piano teaching, English teaching, her church, and to other worthy causes. Josie was a strong believer in ecumenicalism and in the equality of all religions, and in fact was ordained in 2000 as a non-denominational minister.
She made many friends, and will be both fondly remembered and much missed.
Josie leaves two sons, Tony and Don, with daughters-in-law Roseann and Karen, as well as three special grandsons, Christopher, Ryan (with wife Denisse), and Keith.
A memorial service will be held at the columbarium in the garden of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church Sunday, February