Josephine Rocher

Josephine Rocher, beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend died peacefully on Friday June 23, 2023 at Park Manor in Bee Cave, Texas. She was 92. Josephine is survived by her children Stephanie Lisch and Stephen Rocher, her brother Samuel (Shari) Esterkyn, five grandchildren Scott (Blithe) Rocher, Jessica (Andrew) Schwartz, Geoffrey (Katie) Lisch, Michael Lisch, and Kylee (Conner) Antweil, and three great-grandchildren Beau, Scarlett, and Lainey. She was preceded in death by her husband Farnum, who she was married to for 73 years, her mother and father, Fanny Rothman and Louie Esterkyn, and her sister Ida Bernice Agron. She was born on June 9th, 1931 in Saint Joseph, Missouri. She grew up in Grant City, Missouri, and worked in her father's general store where she loved to drive the delivery truck. Grant City was a very small town where there were only 20 people in her grade. She was in a band where she played the saxophone. Her family moved back to Saint Joseph, Missouri in the middle of her freshman year and she went to Central High School where she played the saxophone in the marching band and sang in the choir. In 1948 she went out with Farnum Rocher who had just returned from the Navy in World War II. They dated for a year and a half and in 1950 they married at the Robidoux Hotel. They moved to eight different cities with Farnum's job and Stephen and Stephanie were born along the way. The family eventually settled in Fort Worth, Texas in 1963 which was their home for 28 years. She attended Tarrant County junior college for two years and enjoyed psychology classes. She eventually would sell real estate for 15 years in Fort Worth and she absolutely loved helping young couples find their first homes. She was a fantastic cook and loved to entertain. Stephen would invite his high school baseball team to come over and have Josephine's grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and they would enjoy her sense of humor and conversation. She also took pride in keeping her home clean and would make sure that everything was in perfect shape, every day. In 1992 Josephine and Farnum moved to Austin, Texas to be closer to their grandchildren and daughter and remained until both of their deaths. Being a grandmother brought her so much joy because she always loved children. She was very active in all of her grandchildren's lives and treasured all of the moments with them. At the age of 65, Josephine wrote in a journal entry, "The secret to staying youthful at any age, in my opinion, is exercise regularly, eat nutritionally, get adequate sleep each night, as well as carrying on in your life in an interesting and stimulating manner." She also wrote, "As far as I am concerned, aging is what you make of it. A positive attitude always helps at any age. You only go around this world once, so enjoy, enjoy!" and enjoying life is what she strived to do. She attended aerobics classes three times a week, well into her 60s and volunteered as a docent for many years at the LBJ library on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. She loved to watch Jeopardy daily and Farnum always told everyone she could win it if given the chance. She played mah-jongg her entire marriage and taught her daughter and grandson Geoffrey how to play during the pandemic. She looked forward to playing mah-jongg online every Thursday with Debbie Mustian, who she met at the JCCA, when she was unable to drive to the games anymore. It was such a coincidence they became great friends because Josephine was very good friends with Debbie's parents in Fort Worth. She used to count her quarters won during the day's games every week when she got home from playing and she would call her daughter to tell her how much she had won that day. Also during the pandemic her granddaughter, Kylee, who was attending the University of Texas at Austin, would come and have lunch with her outside the window and talk to her from a safe distance which thrilled Josephine. She was loved by all who knew her, but especially by her family who will miss her dearly. The family is very grateful to the following caretakers: Helen Torres, Ashley Sims, Christina Machado at Arbor Terrace, Haley Driskill and Monika Dane, with Magnolia hospice. She always cheered up when she would see them. A private celebration of life for her surviving family is scheduled for the morning of June 26, 2023. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation be made to the LBJ Presidential Library in Josephine's honor.

Josephine Rocher

June 9, 1931 - June 23, 2023