Obituary: Josephine J. (Guccione) Dube, Bookkeeper for Boston Globe

Josephine J. 'JoJo' (Guccione) Dubé, of Needham, passed away in Tampa Bay, Fla at the Rosewood House II where she had lived for the past three years. 

During her almost 60 years as a Needham resident, she became the face of many of the town's civic and service organizations,.

At 90, Josephine was the youngest and last surviving of five children born to Rosaria (Pipitone) and Joseph Guccione who had emigrated from Misilmeri (Sicily) Italy in 1914 to settle in Corona (Queens) N.Y. When her father, a trained artist and taxidermist, sold family land to the expanding New York Railroad, her family relocated to Roslindale, which is when she met her future husband J. Frederick Rowland 'Rollie' Dubé on a blind date. They married in 1954. 

Unbeknownst to her father, his youngest daughter had been accepted to Queens College but was raised in an era when proper young ladies did not attend university. Undeterred and spirited by his support of her three brothers' successful medical careers, she combined her financial intellect with her outgoing personality toward a long career in business and to serve others in her lifelong community of Needham. 

First she worked in the Purchasing Department of Sears Roebuck, Boston and thereafter for 25 years as the Bookkeeper for the Boston Globe's Needham and Newton regional circulation offices until each closed. At Joel's Candy in Downtown Needham, her popularity soared while in her 80s, its founding proprietor grateful for her 13 years as a model employee with easy customer rapport.

JoJo and Rowland settled in Needham Heights, directly across the street from her dentist brother Quentin, Geraldine and their family. They were faithful members of Christ Episcopal Church, Needham; each fall the Church's Annual Harvest Fair became a destination to enjoy JoJo's scratch Sicilian meatballs in 'gravy' served with aged Parmagiano Reggiano that she personally brought back from Italy. They were also active in Needham Community Theatre for decades. Later as a widow she dedicated some twenty years to the Needham Lions Club, shattering its longstanding gender barrier, first as the Club's first female member, and then as its first elected female President. For its 'highest national recognition of humanitarianism and exemplary service,' she was honored with the Lions Clubs International's Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. She was also a past volunteer of the WWII Women's Auxiliary Corps.

With vigor equal to her community philanthropy, she became an avid global adventurer. It's easier to mention the countries that she missed over those that she visited, often with her travel agent friend Christine Norman of Needham. Among her favorites: the Amazon, Africa, South Pole, Russia's first tour following the collapse of the Cold War, Turkey, Greece, Greenland, South America, the Panama Canal and her Italian homeland.

Josephine leaves her children Barry Kent Dubé and his wife Ann of Natick and Cotuit and Scot Jay Dubé and his wife Kay of Texas; her grandchildren Christina Marie Dubé, J. Douglas Rowland Dubé, Eric Spear Dubé and Christopher Rowland Dubé; her five great-grandchildren; and the extended family of Dubé and Guccione nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband and parents, her four siblings – Anglina G. Micheli, Isadore 'Bob,' Angelo and Quentin – all predeceased her.

A funeral service officiated by Reverend Suzanne Colburn of Christ Episcopal Church Needham will be held at The Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Avenue, Needham Saturday, Nov. 23 at 9:30 a.m., followed by internment with Rite of Christian Burial at Needham Cemetery. Friends and family are invited to attend calling hours Friday, Nov. 22, 4 to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations honoring Josephine's life of service be made either to: the Needham Lions Club P.O. Box 617 Needham, MA 02494 or to the Cotting School, 453 Concord Avenue, Lexington MA 02421.