April 10, 1915 - March 19, 2009

Mary Josephine Zadina, daughter of Otto and Eva Montgomery Clark, was born April 10, 1915, near the village of St. John in Putnam County, Mo. She joined a family of Reva, Eldon and Raymond. Later, two more girls were added, Allene and Maudie. It was a happy household, filled with laughter and love. In 1923, the dreadful epidemic of influenza hit the family and father Otto was gone.

Mother, Eva, was left with five children to support and that was long before there was any type of help available for this 35-year-old mother. Impossible to stay on the farm, the five children were taken in by different relatives. Josephine spent two school years with her aunt and uncle in the Starr School district.

Later, her mother married Jesse Mulanix and moved the family to Worthington, Mo. There a new sister, Nadine was added. As this was only a two-year high school, she had to go to Centerville, Iowa, and work through her junior year. From there, Josephine went to Chillocothe Business College where she worked for her tuition and later working for her room rent and surviving many days on one large Powerhouse candy bar. By the time she had finished college and was ready for a job, the BIG Depression had hit the country and there was no work.

She, like many of the rest of the country, was a survivor. Her brothers had found their way to Omaha, Neb., and the packing houses. Josephine followed, doing any kind of work she could find.

There she met her future husband, Anton Mike Zadina. He had worked off and on for the Union Pacific Railroad bridge gang. In 1940, he was called back to work in the Western Division and the family, including daughter, Sharon Sue, moved to Los Angeles. A son, Clark Anton was added in Los Angeles in 1942.

The Zadinas were in Los Angeles when Pearl Harbor was bombed and Josephine went to work in the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. When the smog began coming into the Los Angeles area, the family headed for the northwest. Running out of gas ration stamps, the family stopped in Klamath County, and lived on the Klamath Indian Reservation in Chiloquin. She was appointed a postmaster there in 1949. She served the Klamath Indians for 20 years and has always had fond memories of that time. During that time, another daughter, Debora, was added.

Her final move was in 1965 to Corvallis the home of Oregon State University. There she had time and was able to follow her main hobby, Family History and Genealogy. She has published two editions of "Mayflower to the Pacific." Later she took bridge lessons and was a member of the Albany Bridge Club. She was also a Charter and Life Member of Benton County Genealogy Society, a member of the Mayflower Society and the daughters of the American Revolution. Josephine was a Past Matron of OES, in Chiloquin and spent many years working with the Rainbow Girls in Chiloquin and Corvallis.

Josephine lost her husband of 66 years in 2002 and her only son, Clark, in 2003. She is survived by daughters Sharon Belleisle of Lapine, and Debora and her husband, Murray Gotsdiner of Clive, Iowa; daughter-in-law, Betty Zadina of Philomath; nine grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters and their husbands, Maudie Nemeth and Art of Tacoma, Wash., and Nadine Scott and Kenneth of West Des Moines, Iowa.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, March 23, at McHenry Funeral Home in Corvallis and again at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the First Baptist Church, 335 S. 26th St. in Philomath followed by the funeral at noon at the Church. A luncheon will follow the funeral.

Her final resting place will be in the Corydon Cemetery in Corydon, Iowa. Online condolences via: www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.