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Memorial for Josephine Baker Archer
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Born in Richmond, Virginia on Aug. 27, 1911
Departed on Jul. 20, 2010 and resided in Philadelphia, PA.
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| Visitation: |
Tuesday, Jul. 27, 2010
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| Service: |
Tuesday, Jul. 27, 2010
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| Cemetery: |
Merion Memorial Park
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Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.
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The Obituary
JOSEPHINE BAKER ARCHER was born in Richmond, Virginia on August 27, 1911 to Forrest Baker and Mary Meyers. Josephine had two brothers, Albert and Howard, both preceded her in death. Josephine's parents died when their children were very young and the three siblings, Josephine, Albert and Howard moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey to live with their aunt and uncle, Sally and James Baker. Josephine and her brothers attended the public schools in New Brunswick.
As a very young woman, Josephine married John Burgen and gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Dolores Burgen Norward, who also preceded her in death. This marriage didn't survive and Josephine moved to Philadelphia in 1938.
One of the first things Josephine did when she arrived in Philadelphia was to join Mount Olivet Tabernacle Baptist Church under the pastorate of the late Rev. Marshall L. Shepard Sr. She was a faithful member for seventy two years. She loved her church and joined the Young Missionaries and later became a member of the Act of Love Taylor Missionaries.
Shortly after coming to Philadelphia, she met Harold Archer and married him in 1939. Harold and Josephine remained married until his death in 1980. Josephine worked as the Head Housekeeper at the Academy of Notre Dame (a private school for girls) in Villanova, Pennsylvania for over 35 years. Always a very active woman, Josephine joined several organizations. Among them were the Women's Christian Alliance, the NAACP Youth Council, under the Direction of Mrs. McDougal and the Philadelphia chapter of AARP.
Josephine loved to travel and along with five of her friends, founded the Hostess Touring Club. The Hostesses planned group trips around the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Many happy travelers went with the Hostesses to numerous locations; among them were Niagara Falls, the New York World's Fair and Peg-Legged Bates resort in the Catskills. The group also took cruises to Bermuda and around the Caribbean stopping in Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas and even flew to Hawaii.
After the death of her husband Harold, Josephine became friends with John Turner, with whom she had a long and loving relationship until his death. John was a member of Service Baptist Church and Josephine would often attended services with him. At Service Baptist Church, she was affectionately known as Miss Joe.
Josephine was one of the first residents to move into the University Square Apartment complex at 40th and Market Streets when it opened, and she lived there for many years. Once her health began to fail in the late 1990s, she relocated to the Penn Center for Rehabilitation and Care.
When she arrived at Penn Center, she was very frail both emotionally and physically. But within a few months, the excellent staff at the Center enabled the Real Josephine to return. During her years at Penn Center, Josephine became the Life of the Party. She was usually the first person on the bus when there was a trip; she never missed a party and was unbeatable at the weekly bingo games.
Death came quickly. She awoke Monday morning July 19 her usual self, happily chatting with the staff. Shortly afterwards she became unresponsive. She was rushed to Presbyterian Hospital where she quietly died the next morning.
Josephine is survived by three grandchildren, Juanita, Howard, and Kim, numerous great-grandchildren and great, great grandchildren; niece and nephew Barbara and Stewart Gaskin of Phoenix, Arizona, great nieces and nephews, and great, great nieces; her Niece Martha (Marty) Jones-Mayo and her husband Forrest Mayo, her devoted caregiver for many years at Penn Center Brenda Gilliard and friend Mamie Haines.
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