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In memory of
JOSIE N DAPAR
May 10, 1937 - July 20, 2020
May 10, 1937 - Jul 20, 2020
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JOSIE's obituary
An obituary by Dr, Rhys Dapar (nephew)
The curtains went up and there she was dressed in an ostrich plumed cavalier, whiskers, and long leather boots… hanging upside down. There was a small gasp from the audience. The youngest of us, just a toddler at the time, clapped and smiled with glee once she recognized her Beautiful Auntie Josie (a name we liked to call her) on the stage. But soon, her smiling face gave way to a horrified expression from which an anguished cry soon followed. We nearly had to carry my sister out with all the commotion she was causing. Such was the opening of Puss ‘N Boots and Auntie was Puss. This was the first of many plays we attended nearly every year at the Occidental College Summer Drama Festival for the next several decades. And every year, Auntie Josie was in them.
Josephine Dapar was born May 10, 1937 and raised in Tujunga, California to an immigrant Filipino father and mother. Raphael, her father, had made his way to California working the sugar cane and pineapple plantations in Hawaii; he later plied his trade in the automotive industry and owned a small orange grove in the San Fernando Valley where he sold his fruit off to small markets in a time when California was known for its citrus. Trinidad, her mother, worked as a “Rosie Riveter” in the wings of Lockheed fighter planes because of her diminutive size, during her contribution to the war cause. Her mother divorced (nearly scandalous in those days) and married a retired Filipino Naval Boxer, Generoso Padilla. To “Pad’s” credit, he amassed 10 championship belts and taught Josie a thing or two about boxing, “just punch them in the nose”. Josie has an older brother, Ralph who survives her and resides in Seattle, Washington. Josie attended the nearby Verdugo Hills High School and later studied Music at Occidental College and UCLA in the late Fifties and early Sixties.
Although known most for her acting, Josie worked professionally as a music copyist for the famed Bob Ross Music Company in Hollywood for over three decades. A venerable Who’s Who of singers, songwriters, musicians, composers, and arrangers filed through those doors. She had toured with Johnny Mathis during his early years. Her personal instrument was the viola which she played since she her childhood; but she could play any stringed instrument as well as carry a tune on a woodwind, brass, or percussion instrument if she had to. She had the most fun, recently, playing guitar or ukulele with family and friends. She could sing and dance, too; but was quite shy about it. We could only see her perform on the stage. We tried and tried but could only get a “Happy Birthday to You” out of her and maybe a little tap dancing jig. Still it was very amusing and entertaining.
Fun was the very definition of Josie. When she arrived at the house, family gathering, or any event, fun was how you would feel as soon as you heard the shout out, “Josie is here”. She was skilled and rather competitive at a good many activities such as tennis, racquetball, bowling, softball, horseback riding, and golf. She was a huge fan of sports and listened to the LA Dodgers games on a little transistor radio back in the day. Her favorite teams remain the LA Lakers, LA Dodgers, LA Rams and whatever team she, or you, were playing on at the time.
Travel was always in her nature. She would travel alone, or with family and friends to destinations both near and far. Plane, train, automobile, boat, tram, horse… you name it – she’ll take it. In her younger days, she led the trail on many excursions through the nearby Tujunga Canyon. She loved the outdoors citing Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Highway 1 among her favorite road trip destinations. She went to Europe with her good friends. She went to Hawaii and Texas on a regular basis to visit family. She traveled to the Midwest, East Coast, Southern States, and Pacific Northwest for both family and friends. But most of all, she made Southern California her home stomping grounds. Her banged up convertible VW on the road was as much a visual icon as her baseball cap, neck kerchief, Aloha shirt, sweatpants, and black and white Chuck Taylors. She knew L.A. better than the pre-GPS or Thomas Guides. If you asked for directions, she could give you the landmarks and smallest of details along the way.
Josie was a Foodie before anyone came up with that as a thing. Anyone who knew Auntie Josie also knew she couldn’t boil water without supervision, “How do you turn this thing on?”. But did she know where to go eat anywhere within 100 miles? - yes, she did. She knew every good diner, deli, restaurant as well as some of their owners or managers in the entire LA Basin. Meal of the day was always “Deenay”. As in “Where are we going for Deenay?”; or “What shall we have for Deenay?” Drinks were easy…Coca Cola. She could have been a spokesperson. And dessert was just another of the basic food groups for her.
Josie has innumerable stage credits from her work mostly at the venerable Occidental College Summer Drama Festival as well as a number of community theater groups in the L.A. area over the last 50+ years. She has received a number of reviews for her performances throughout the years including her performance as Bloody Mary in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera production of South Pacific. Her filmography includes: Pirates of the Caribbean “Dead Man’s Chest” (2006); Tropic Thunder (2008); Volcano (1997); Stone Cold (1991); Jonestown (2013); Live Shot (1995); Unremarkable (2016); Woman Outside (2016); Dryland (2015); Vessels( 2015); 24 After (2013); Shangri-Lost (2013); Like Flies (2012); The Can Opener (2012); The Chosen (1995); Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999).
Her body of work on stage and in front of the camera was substantial. Her body of work behind the lens was even more so; and masterful at that. Josie traveled with her camera like it was an extension of her body. Pentax, Leica, Canon, Nikon camera bodies along with an arsenal of lenses made their way through her hands throughout the decades. Each giving way to the next by virtue of their ability to manage light and lenses. Her medium was natural light and stage light photography on print film. She made use of motion picture type films that she had developed in a variety of special film processing labs in Hollywood. Certain ones she used for color photography; others she used for her black and whites. Her ability to frame her photos and attention to bokeh was remarkable. There was no image cropping, digital transformation, or any other artificial renderings of her photos. She rarely, if ever used flash; or even screens, umbrellas, or artificial shades. Her photos adorned the walls, halls, and displays of countless theater productions. Portraits, stage scenes, and images of actors, stage crews, and production staff were found in brochures, portfolios, and other media by the thousands. She sent over 10,000 images to
the Occidental College Summer Drama Festival archives. Most importantly to her, was the viewing of her slides on the Kodak Carousel at the end of the drama season during the
Cast Party that was met with the “oohs and aahs” and the smiles mixed with laughter of cast and crew as images popped up on the screen.
Those same oohs and aahs came from family and friends whenever we viewed her slides in our homes on the big screens. Her photos captured some of our favorite memories growing up through the years. Christmases, Thanksgivings, Weddings, Funerals, Reunions, Birthdays, and Graduations, she was there. Wrestling matches, gymnastics, soccer, baseball, school plays, recitals, and school orchestra, she was in the stands, on the sidelines, in the audience…your biggest fan. Big voice and loud clapping from one of the smallest persons on the sidelines or in the stands.
She was a consummate fan of all things entertainment. Josie was a Star Trek trekkie while it was still a TV series. She stood in line for hours in Westwood for the release of Star Wars IV-VI. She attended musicals, plays, ballet, dance, the LA Olympics, symphonies, museums, Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, SeaWorld, and all the zoos from San Francisco to San Diego. She stood in line for UCLA Bruin basketball tickets during the John Wooden era. Ditto for LA Dodgers and Lakers. And if you were the lucky person(s) who went with her, you were assured of the most delightful experience guaranteed. Unless of course, you talked during the movie or performance at which time you would be labeled a miscreant worthy of death by a Josie glare or sharp retort!
She always knew a lot about what you were doing. And she knew a lot about everything. Her prowess in board games, card games, Trivial Pursuit, and charades was legendary. Scrabble, movie trivia, and crossword puzzles…a grand master. She even tried out for Jeopardy and nearly made the final cut for the show except that, “I kept shouting out the answer before hitting the button!”.
In the end, she was the same Auntie Josie but just a little more out of breath and maybe a tad less energetic. She remained as she ever was humorous, brilliant, and engaged with her friends, family, and “Dawgs” as she liked to call them. She really didn’t like people to fuss over her (except for food and Coca Cola, of course). Thankfully, her friends coaxed her to seek medical care for her shortness of breath. The doctors at Verdugo Hills Hospital diagnosed her with pneumonia, but also discovered a tumor mass in the middle of her chest. It was an inoperable small cell cancer. She didn’t want the chemo or radiation therapy full well knowing that the treatment wouldn’t really change the outcome. Everyone, including her doctors, thought she might survive for months; but weeks later, the tumor doubled in size. And in the early evening at 7 p.m. on July 20, 2020 while surrounded by family and close friends, she drew her last whisper of a breath and exited the grand stage of a truly beautiful life.
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Created with love by
William Thomas (JOSIE's friend).
