Josephine Christine Ames' Obituary
Josephine Ames was born Josephine Christine Walla on October 11, 1923 in West, Texas, to parents Joe Walla and Albina (Marek) Walla. She passed away on October 5, 2014, in Dallas Texas. Josephine is preceded in death by her husband, Robert E. Ames. Josephine grew up in the Czech-founded community of West, Texas and attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and West High School. Josephine and her family members spoke fluent Czech in a time when family members would switch to Czech when a conversation topic was not appropriate for young children. Josephine was active in the USO and planned events and dances for servicemen during World War II. She enjoyed travelling and was a fan of horse racing. As a young woman, she took numerous vacations and trips to the Bossier City horse races with her sister, Rosalie Walla and her mother. One of her favorite vacations was with Rosalie to Hawaii and California. She told a story of trying to take an afternoon nap at a hotel in San Francisco, but the nap was interrupted when the guest in the next room was playing piano music very loudly. Josephine called down to the front desk to complain. A few moments later a manager came up to speak to the guest. The manager knocked on the door and told the guest, “Excuse me, Mr. Fiedler, but a guest has asked that you not play your piano this afternoon as it is disturbing her.” Josephine also enjoyed horse racing and, with her sister Rosalie, had a talent for picking a trifecta. In addition to horse racing, another of Josephine’s favorite past times was spending her race winnings in Dallas at the downtown Neiman Marcus. No shopping trip was complete without a trip to the Zodiac Room for lunch. She and Rosalie enjoyed entertaining their numerous nieces and nephews and making birthdays and holidays into special events. She planned many trips to Six Flags and Disneyland for her many appreciative and unruly nieces and nephews. Josephine was the family photographer and each get together included a slide show featuring family members. She worked at Texas Iron Works in Waco, until she met and married a Dallasite and widower, Robert Ames. She moved to Dallas to live with Bob and his step children, where she worked at Texas Instruments until retirement. She was cared for in her last year by the kind and generous staff at Treemont Retirement and Rehabilitation Center. Josephine is survived by stepson, Charles D. Ames and wife, Kimberly; stepdaughter, Cheryl Ann Ames; stepson Garre Wayne Ames; sister, Rosalie Walla of Waco, Texas; sister, Mary Ann Hopkins of Temple, Texas; brother, Charlie Walla of Centennial, Colorado; sister, Dolores Quin of LaMarque, Texas; numerous step grandchildren, and unruly nieces and nephews. Josephine was preceded in death by brother, Joe Walla. Visitation/Rosary will be from 6pm to 8pm on Thurs., October 9 at Restland, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75243. The services and funeral Mass will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 720 S. Floyd Rd., Richardson, Texas 75080 She was an active parishioner at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church and an enthusiastic member of Catholic Daughters of the Americas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Josephine’s memory to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, Rectory, 709 James St., Richardson, Texas, 75080.
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