JOSEPHINE MARIA THOMAS was born to the late Alice Marie (Dale) Thomas and Joe Thomas, Sr. in 1955 at Jefferson-Hillman Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the eldest of four children born to their union. As a little girl she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and attended South Elyton Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Once her family relocated to Highland Park, MI, she met her childhood sweetheart, Eddie Kendle. She graduated from Highland Park High School in 1972 and matriculated to Michigan State University first majoring in Nursing. hoping to follow in her mother’s footsteps but she later switched her major to Urban Planning.
After graduating from Michigan State University, Josephine was an instructor at Detroit Job Corp. Later she joined Metropolitan Life Insurance Company traveling the country as a trainer.
Josephine was beloved by everyone she met. Children especially gravitated to her as well as animals. She was just that loving and caring. Josephine was a compassionate giver who never shied away from helping people and she loved her family, unconditionally. She was extraordinarily selfless, loving, and caring, even until her final breath. She was a sports lover and news junkie and enjoyed watching Entertainment Tonight and TMZ, and complained profusely when beau Eddie watched cop shows, horror flicks and old westerns. Her phenomenal cooking skills rivaled Five Star Michelin Chefs as she found ways to make flavors come together perfectly in her dishes. She mastered recipes for traditional southern dishes handed down from her mother and grandmother.
Josephine was truly an angel walking among us. Family, friends and relatives describe her as loving, giving, caring, dependable, thoughtful, gracious, courteous, and beautiful. She was all these things and more. She was also a dedicated and fiercely loyal daughter, sister, wife, and friend. But most of all she placed her duty as a mother to her son Jeremy as her greatest joy.
Josephine answered God’s call on December 25, 2023 surrounded by her family. She leaves to cherish her memory: her father Joe Thomas, Sr. (Corine Thomas), her husband, Eddie Lee Kendle, her sister-in-law Cynthia Kendle, her only child, Jeremy Lee Thomas Kendle, her brother Joe Thomas, Jr., her brother Maurice Holt, her sister Vickie Bernice Thomas, her brother Joseph Rashawn Thomas, her nephews Randall Julian Thomas, Joe Thomas III, and Robert Savage along with a host of other relatives and friends who will miss her. Josephine’s mother Alice Marie (Dale) Barnes, her stepfather Robert L. Barnes, her sister Lydia Renee Thomas, and niece Brittany Victoria Thomas preceded her in death.
