Josephine F. Hehre Was Nurse, Dedicated Musician

Josephine Frances (Carvill) Hehre died peacefully on July 23 at Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center following a brief illness.

A former resident of Oak Bluffs and Tisbury, Jo resided at Windemere for the past two years. She was the daughter of Joseph Francis and Muriel Smith Carvill and the beloved wife of Dr. Frederick William Hehre Jr., who predeceased her in 1980.

Jo was born in Bath, Me., on Sept. 7, 1921. As a young girl she lived in Virginia and Texas where her father, a marine architect, worked for the Texas Oil Company and designed the Texaco Star and the T logo. She was graduated from Montclair High School in New Jersey in 1939. She went on to the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing and continued with her education at Columbia University, receiving her bachelor's degree in nursing education in 1947. Between 1942 and 1949 she worked at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center as head nurse and medical supervisor, and it was there that Jo met Dr. Frederick Hehre. They were married in 1947.

Music was always an integral part of her life. Josephine was a two-time all-state band member at Montclair High School, first chair violinist in orchestra and a recipient of academic honors in her senior year. She continued her musical interests in New York, regularly playing string quartets with Virginia Apgar in the None-Such group.

In New Haven, Conn., between 1956 and 1975 she was a member of the New Haven Chorale, the early music program at Yale University and a violinist and choir member of St. Thomas's Episcopal Church. As a member of St. Thomas's she served on the alter guild; she also was a member of the American Association of University Women at Yale and a volunteer for the Red Cross. Her deepest musical interest lay in recorder music, instruments and early baroque music. She became a certified American Recorder Society member and teacher in 1971, and held that credential for more than 20 years.

Josephine was first introduced to the Vineyard in 1946 by her husband, who had summered on the Island since the 1930s. In 1959 the Hehres purchased their Eastville Beach home, where they enjoyed many summers with their children, neighbors and friends. During the year Jo taught recorder students in her home; she also taught at the Chilmark Community Center for 10 years.

Jo established her year-round Vineyard residency in 1981 following the unexpected death of Dr. Hehre in 1980. For 21 years she lived on Winyah Lane in Tisbury, remaining active in numerous Island organizations. She was a member of the West Tisbury Congregational Church choir and bell choir, a founding member of the Island Consort, a former vice president of the Martha's Vineyard Garden Club, the Want-To-Know Club and a member of the Oriental Chapter of the Eastern Star in Oak Bluffs. She was also an operating room volunteer at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital, a trustee emeritus of Trinity Episcopal Church in Oak Bluffs and served on the board of directors of the Vineyard Nursing Association.

A devoted wife, mother and grandmother, Josephine was predeceased by her husband, her son, Frederick William Hehre 3rd, and grandson Christopher Scott Slocum. She is survived by her daughter, Carol Hehre Slocum, and her son, Richard Carvill Hehre, as well as grandchildren Benjamin Townsend Slocum, Jessica Elisabeth Slocum, Allison Carvill Van Glahn Slocum, Pamela Hale Vernick, Rachel Elizabeth Hehre, Victoria Stedman Hehre, Margretta Carol Hehre, Eleanor Josephine Hehre and Frederick William (Ned) Hehre 4th.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 30, in the Trinity Episcopal Church on Ocean avenue in Oak Bluffs. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 2568, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to the Trinity Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 2147, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs.