Obituary of Josephine Marie HULSE

February 21, 1940 – July 23, 2020

With sadness but infinite love, gratitude and admiration we say “see you in a little while” to our cherished mom, grandma, aunt, cousin, co-worker and friend Jo Marie. While her mind and sense of humour remained as sharp as ever, her body needed to rest. Her sons Doug, Mel, daughter-in-law Lynne, daughter Coral and granddaughter Carly will miss Jo Marie beyond words.

Born in Saskatoon to loving parents Earl and Josephine Dooley, Jo Marie was the oldest of the Dooley cousins and oldest granddaughter of the Schreiber cousins, something she was proud of in her large extended family. Her sister, Deanne, arrived when Jo Marie was six and due to her mom’s health Jo Marie learned at age 11 to cook, bake, clean, sew, grocery shop and help raise Deanne. In the early years, her dad’s job took the family across the prairies so often that Jo Marie attended 13 schools in 12 years. She was determined after arriving in Calgary in 1957 that she stay put and the city became home. She originally wanted to be a nurse but instead went to secretarial school and worked for doctors, which she loved. While working at the Medical Arts Building in Mission, she met her former husband, married and had her two sons and then daughter. They settled in Fairview where she became lifelong friends with her neighbours. In 1977, she started at Woodward’s Food Floor in Chinook Centre as a grocery packer and then cashier. She loved talking to her customers who would wait in line just to see her during their weekly grocery runs. In 1993, Jo Marie joined Kudu Industries as the temp receptionist. As the start-up company gained its footing she became a full-time employee and began her third career, again something she loved. You may be sensing a theme. Jo Marie loved her work and even more, the people she saw and talked to every day. At Kudu, she was the heart of the company – their Mother Goose, looking after fellow employees, customers and suppliers. She was so proud to have her own personalized parking spot right next to the front door. At the age of 80 and with her 25-year service award, Jo Marie officially retired in March 2020. She loved being a mom and even more being a grandma to Carly. She was a fabulous cook and baker and loved doing things for people like remembering birthdays, listening to personal stories, talking about everything under the sun and staying in touch with as many people as possible over the years. She loved ‘60s era Volkswagen Beetles (she owned a few in her day), Lamb’s Navy Rum, tulips, Mike Drew’s photography, and photos of everyone’s children. She was amazing for laughing at the ridiculousness of life, making other people laugh, meeting new friends and keeping old friends, staying true to herself, never putting on airs and getting good value for something. In later years, she enjoyed puzzles on her iPad each morning, a good word search, reading a nice novel, talking to her friends on the phone, watching Jeopardy and following Alex Trebek’s own health journey. She had a sincere interest in people, an inquisitive nature about everything and a generosity that knew no bounds. There will never be another Jo Marie. We were so blessed.

Jo Marie didn’t want a funeral but we will have a celebration of her life when COVID-19 is behind us. She asked that instead of flowers, donations be made to local food banks in her memory. We’d like to thank the many people we’ve heard from in recent days, as well as the health care providers who cared for Jo Marie during the past six years and more recently at the Rockyview General Hospital. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Josephine’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

A tree in Jo Marie’s memory will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis and Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.