Josie Macaisa June 19, 1938 – Sept. 9, 2022

In Memory of Josie Macaisa

After a long illness, Josefina Basa Macaisa (“Josie” to her friends and family) died peacefully in her home in Citrus Hills, FL on September 9, 2022. Her son was holding her hand, and the family gathered soon thereafter. The day before, each family member got to talk to her, say what they wanted to say, and tell her how much we loved her. She was alert and was able to respond.

Josefina Basa was born on June 19, 1938, in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, in the Philippines. The youngest of nine children, she was surrounded by brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and cousins and friends (whom she thought of as family) while growing up. Education was highly valued in her family, and she got a degree in Business Arts in the early 1950s at Manuel L Quezon University. She passed on this value to her children.

She got an administrative job working for the government right after college. However, she had the soul of an entrepreneur and was soon selling items from her desk drawer. This entrepreneurial mindset was so natural to her, she didn’t think twice about always having side projects in addition to her day job. She catered, sold beauty products, opened a convenience store, ran a boarding house, to name a few.

Josie moved with her family, and with her brother’s family, to Chicago, IL in 1974. They luckily just escaped Martial Law.

In Chicago, she finally found the career that was worthy of her entrepreneurial drive. That career was in real estate, where she was a realtor, a broker, and a pioneer in establishing a retirement community for hardworking Filipino Americans. She envisioned friends and family gathering, relaxing, celebrating, playing mahjong, and enjoying the sumptuous Filipino food that she would cook. Between 1988-2003 she connected hundreds and thousands of people, many of whom would have never met, and this vision of hers came to fruition.

Truthfully, there wasn’t much she set her mind to that she didn’t make happen. These years were the happiest for her, filled with work, her sister, a growing family, and her friends, all in a community. When she finally retired, she still brought people together in the Birthday Club, bingo, and bi-weekly mahjong nights, always with Filipino food.

Josie died peacefully in her sleep, just as she wished, on September 9, 2022. She is survived by her children, Marie, Marissa and her husband Ed, Marlo and his wife Joy, Marco, and Maribeth, her grandchildren, Sam, Rob, Lauren, and Sophia, and her many nieces and nephews and their children and children’s children. She was preceded in passing by her beloved sister, Aurora, (“Ninang” to all of us), who joyfully welcomed her, along with their brothers and sisters.

A mass and remembrance of Josie’s life will take place on October 15, 2022, at St. Scholastica’s Church in Lecanto, FL at 1 pm followed by a celebration at the Citrus Hills Country Club in Hernando, FL.