Josephine Posnanski of Brentwood: Worked on lunar module, loved dancing
Josephine Posnanski lived on Long Island for decades, raising her family in Quogue and Hampton Bays with her husband Harry before moving to Brentwood in recent years. Credit: Posnanski family
When Josephine Posnanski’s feet started tapping to the beat of a song, it wouldn’t be long before she was shuffling and sliding them across the floor, drawing into her dancing anyone nearby — relatives and friends, even the nurses and aides who cared for her.
Dance was just one form of expression for the Hackensack, New Jersey, native who enjoyed cooking, sewing, gardening, chatting and cheering on the New York Yankees and Giants.
The feisty daughter of Italian immigrants — who was the belle of the ball but also was a supervisor of employees who soldered circuit boards for the lunar module — died on April 11 of COVID-19.
She was 98 and had lived at the Maria Regina Residence in Brentwood for the past two years.
“She was just a daughter of Italian Immigrants who loved her family, her Italian heritage, her gardening, sports and loved to chat with whoever would listen,” said her daughter-in-law, JoAnn Posnanski of Bayport.
Born Nov. 11, 1921, the former Josephine DiMartino was one of Rosalie and Gaetano DiMartino’s two daughters and four sons. She attended Broadway Elementary School and graduated from Hackensack High School.
Family called her Jay.
“My mom loved to dance,” said her son, Harry Posnanski Jr. “She and her brother, Joe, went to many dances and won some jitterbug contests along the way. Her love for dancing remained with her throughout her life. Even when she was in the nursing home — when she heard the music her feet would start tapping and she would start moving to the music.”
Posnanski juggled marriage, children and a career that took her to work for marquee firms such as Alcoa Aluminum in Edgewater, New Jersey, and Hazeltine Electronics in Riverhead for 25 years, where she supervised the soldering of circuit boards that were a part of the lunar module.
She married Harry Posnanski on Nov. 16, 1941, in Hackensack, a union that lasted for 61 years until he died in 2003.
In 1955, the Posnanskis moved to Quogue when her husband took on a job as a caretaker on a large estate. And while much of Josephine’s life had been spent within blocks of relatives in Hackensack, she never looked back.
They lived in Quogue for 23 years and then moved to Hampton Bays, where she lived for another 40 years and showed off her green thumb by producing a lush vegetable garden full of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and peppers.
She would take that skill to the Maria Regina Residence, where she loved arranging flowers in vases for the tables every day.
“She loved social interaction and would love to share time, conversation and of course food, often dropping off meatballs and plants to her neighbors,” her son said. “Her house was always open, and friends and family were welcomed with open arms.”
Besides her son and daughter-in-law, Josephine Posnanski is survived by a sister, Adeline Cavalieri of Hackensack; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and 13 nieces and nephews. Her daughter, JoAnn, died in 2017.
Services were private, but relatives are planning a memorial service.
