Obituary of Josephine Marie Zogran

Josephine (Jody) Zogran, (age 84), died peacefully on February 3, 2015, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Raymond, four children, ten grandchildren, three great grandchildren, one brother, and many loving nieces, nephews and friends. Jody was born in NuMine, Pennsylvania and graduated from West Penn School of Nursing in Pittsburgh. She later received a BA degree in Communications from Bowie State. Jody practiced as an RN for over 50 years with her first position at Pittsburgh Municipal Hospital caring for polio patients during the time Dr. Jonas Salk was developing the polio vaccine. This early experience led to her involvement with Rotary Club International where she received the Paul Harris Fellow Award for providing over 65 lectures to a variety of organizations on her experiences as a polio nurse. She was also interviewed for the PBS Documentary "The Shot Felt 'Round the World" where she shared the impact this work had on her. She spent thousands of hours doing volunteer work throughout her life. Many of her friends and family gathered last April to celebrate with her and Ray their 60th Wedding Anniversary - what an affair! On display were pictures of their travels around the world: climbing Machu Picchu, zip-lining in Costa Rica, riding camels in Egypt, tracing her roots in Poland, and making pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Lourdes, the Vatican, and Oberammergau - Jody was the ultimate adventurer. Wherever they traveled, she always remembered to light a candle for her grandson Jarryd who also fought a long battle with cancer. "Grandma Jody" or simply "G-ma" loved her family. They will always remember playing Euchre with her late into the night, having seaweed battles at the lake, her wild Halloween costumes, and how special she made all of the family gatherings. She loved to have fun and she was fun to be around. Her love of life, adventurous spirit and generous nature will remain alive in the hearts of all who knew her.