Josephine J. Wang of Gaithersburg, MD, passed on August 30, 2024, in the company of her family. She is the loving Mother of Charlotte Wagner and Kenneth Wang, cherished Grandmother of Alex Wang, Colin Wang, Tyler Wang and Curtis Wagner, and dear Sister of Fritz Chang, David Chang and Michael Chang. She is also survived by many other loving relatives and friends, and she is pre-deceased by brother Christopher Chang.

Josephine was born in China on July 21, 1942 to Hsuan and Yen-Yi Chang. Her family fled to Hong Kong in 1949, where they lived for ten years. In 1959, the family moved to New York City. She entered Flushing High School in the tenth grade, and she graduated in 1961. She went on to college at Queens College, part of the City University of New York system, graduating in 1966 with a degree in elementary education. She began teaching that year, as a third grade teacher at PS 95. She moved to the Washington, DC area after getting married, and she obtained a master’s degree in education from the George Washington University in 1969. Daughter Charlotte was born in 1969, and son Kenneth was born in 1972.

Josephine went on to a teaching career with the Montgomery County Public School system, serving as an elementary school classroom teacher, as well as an English-for-speakers-of-other-languages teacher for students at a variety of levels. Josephine also pursued an interest in politics starting in the 1980’s. She worked on numerous political campaigns, she served for many years on the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, and she was proud to serve as a presidential appointee under President George H. W. Bush.

Her other interests and talents include her abilities as an artist (having worked as a portrait artist at the 1965 World’s Fair in New York), her skill at calligraphy, and her interest in French language and culture. She will be missed, and we commend her soul into God’s hands.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1513 Dunster Road, Rockville, MD on Friday September 20, 2024 at 11:00 am. The interment will be at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to the Queens College Foundation.