Obituary of Josephine Faillace

Josephine Faillace, almost 104 years old, of Bedford Hills, NY, and formerly of Mamaroneck, NY, died Thursday, February 20, 2014 of natural causes. Josephine was born to the late Karl and Elizabeth Knab, on March 19, 1910, in B?hl in Baden, Germany. She married her late husband, Dominick Joseph Faillace on November 5, 1929. They lived together in Mamaroneck, NY for over 60 years and then moved to Bedford Hills, NY, where Josephine resided until becoming a resident of Putnam Ridge Nursing Home in Brewster, NY six years ago. Josephine was one of 13 children; she was the 3rd from the youngest. Her favorite was her next younger brother Zepp. When Josephine was only 16 years old, she came to America alone on a long ship's journey to seek a brighter future. She had a sponsor in America where work was waiting for her as a housekeeper and later a seamstress in a factory. She did not need to come through Ellis Island. As soon as possible, Josephine became a proud America Citizen and embraced her new country and home! One of the happiest moments of her life was when she arrived in America and caught her first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. During this time, in order to improve her English, Josephine would often go to the movies. She tells the story that: "One day there was a man there who had his eyes on me. His name was Dominick. He asked if he could walk me home and so I let him." Two years later they were married. "I fell in love with his eyes - they were the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen". They were happily married for 67 years until Dominick's death in 1996. Josephine would say the key to their successful marriage was "fights - I let him (Dominick) win them all the time, but in my own quiet way he (Dominick) did just what I wanted" Josephine lived for her family; they were her number one priority in life. There was nothing she would not do or sacrifice for them. She even returned three times to Germany to visit her family who remained there. Josephine attributed her longevity to living a life full of faith, hard work, generosity, honesty and love for others. Josephine is survived by her two children and their spouses. Her son, Salvatore and his wife Patsy Lou Faillace of Santee, CA, and her daughter Marie and her husband Raymond Hvolbeck, of Bedford Hills NY. She is also survived by four grandchildren: Neil and Debbi Hvolbeck of Brewster, NY and Mike and Mark Faillace of CA. Josephine is also survived by her seven great grandchildren: Eric and Lauren Hvolbeck, Ashley Livingston, Krystyna, Trenton, Caden and Brielle Faillace. Visitation hours will be Monday, February 24, 2014 from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm at Oekler and Cox Funeral Home in Mt. Kisco, NY. Funeral Mass will be Tuesday, February 25, 2014 at 10:00 am at St Mary of the Assumption Church in Katonah, NY. Burial will immediately follow at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, NY