May 22, 1921 – Feb. 16, 2015
Self-confident, fiercely independent, loyal and loving. We think of Josephine in these descriptive terms. She was a unique woman, with innumerable experiences, who was greatly cherished.
Josephine was born in Philadelphia as the only child of the Rev. James Tucker and Daisy Caldwell Tucker. Religion and education were constant themes in her home, as her father was a minister in the AME Zion Episcopal Church and a graduate of Lincoln University, while her mother was a graduate of North Carolina Central University (formerly North Carolina College). Having been raised as the daughter of a bishop in the AME Zion Episcopal church, her mother Daisy completely embraced her dual roles as being Josephine’s doting mother and a minister’s dutiful wife. When reflecting on her childhood, Josephine often referred to the long days at church and how she enjoyed escaping to her grandmother’s home where there was more entertainment.
Josephine moved to New York with her parents and attended New York University. Much to her parents’ pleasure, she met and married Headley L. Scott, M.D. However, the first years of marriage didn’t meet their initial expectations, so Josephine decided to pursue her master of social work at Atlanta University. After a year apart, the couple reunited and Joette and Headley, Jr. were born in 1947 and 1949, respectively. Josephine and Headley settled in East Elmhurst, Queens while she completed her graduate work at New York University. Balancing motherhood, marriage and full-time employment was Josephine’s focus for the next 20 years until she and Headley divorced. But much to her surprise, after both remarried and subsequently divorced their respective spouses, Josephine and Headley reunited once again and moved to Great Neck, until Headley’s death in 1980.
After Headley’s death and her retirement from the Bureau of Child Guidance, Josephine spent much of her time with her grandchildren in Oyster Bay and Jonesboro, GA. Josephine also traveled throughout the world and made sure to remain active, engaged and eager to share her experiences and lessons in life.
Josephine leaves behind her daughter, Joette and son-in-law, Vernon, her son Headley Jr. and his wife Jewel, her granddaughter Karon and her husband Shawn, her grandsons Headley III ( Lee, Jr.) and Christopher, great-granddaughter, Jasmine, grandson Zachary and his mother Teyaira.
