Josephine Rahmatulla
1929 – 2026

Josephine Rahmatulla, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully at her home in September 2026 at the age of 97. Surrounded by her loving children and caregivers, she closed a remarkable chapter of a life defined by faith, family, compassion and quiet strength.

Jo, as she preferred to be called, was known for her warm and compassionate presence, unconditional love and deep devotion to her faith. She had a gift for making people feel heard and cared for, offering encouragement without judgment and helping others without seeking recognition. Beneath that gentle spirit was remarkable persistence and determination. Whatever life placed before her, Jo did what needed to be done and found a way to keep moving forward.

She is survived by her children, Al (Kim), Roxanne (Barry), Ron (Kelly), Joel (Mary), and Remy; her grandchildren, Nikki (Eric), Galen (Brian), Nick, Andrew (Abby), Tyler (Clarissa), and Kayla; and her great-grandchildren, Emily, Jordyn, London, Tanner, Carter, Koa, Maddon and Nathan. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Alfonso (1958); her second husband, John (1999); and youngest son, Terry (2024).

Born in 1929, Jo was the oldest of five children and the big sister her siblings looked to for guidance and support. She was raised on a farm in a close-knit family where extended family always seemed to have a reason to gather. Those bonds became the foundation for the unwavering devotion to family that would define her life.

Jo would describe her life as simple and humble, but those who knew her understood that her influence reached much further than she would ever have imagined.

As a young woman, Jo was athletic and spirited, competing in tumbling and tennis in high school. She was also a beauty queen, earning the title of Miss Philippines in a regional pageant in San Diego. She later attended Arizona State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in education. There she met her first husband, Alfonso Gomez. They married in 1951 and had three children, Al, Roxanne and Ron. Tragically, Alfonso passed away suddenly when the kids were young.

Faced with raising three young children, Jo relied on the love and support of her family while drawing upon a remarkable inner strength of her own. She continued raising her children while working as a schoolteacher, creating a home grounded in unconditional love, discipline, responsibility and routine. The resilience she demonstrated during those years became part of the legacy she passed on to her children.

Several years later, Jo married John Rahmatulla in 1964, someone she had also known while growing up. Together, they built a blended family and raised six children. After John retired from the Navy in 1972, the family settled in Irvine, California, where Jo spent the next five decades building a home that became the center of family life—a place where children, grandchildren, relatives, neighbors and friends always knew they were welcome. She remained there until her passing.

As her children grew older, Jo found more time for the many things that brought her joy. She loved macramé, crochet and ceramics, but music held a special place in her life. She taught herself to play guitar and piano, brought family together for singalongs, played occasionally at church and sang in the choir. She built an extensive music collection and rarely passed up an opportunity to sing, especially enjoying harmonizing with others. After attending a group guitar-playing event in Irvine, she was delighted to find her photograph featured in the Irvine World News.

Jo was also an enthusiastic caretaker of birds. Her backyard was once home to cockatiels, parakeets, finches and doves, with an astonishing 62 birds under her care at one point.

In her later years, Jo devoted even more of herself to her faith and community. She served as a Eucharistic minister, visited the sick and assisted with church activities. Her faith was not something she simply spoke about; it was reflected in how she treated others and how willingly she gave of herself.

She also returned to the agricultural roots of her childhood through gardening, growing fruits and vegetables and generously sharing her harvest with neighbors and friends. Her garden became another way of connecting with people and building relationships within her community.

Neighbors and friends described Jo as a compassionate listener, a steady confidant and a servant leader. She was humble and nonjudgmental and rarely needed to tell others how they should live. She simply led by example.

Above everything else, Jo’s greatest joy was her family.

Her home operated under an unofficial open-door policy: family could come by whenever they wanted, and no reservation was ever required. Christmas at Nana’s became a cherished tradition, when her home overflowed with family and friends, food, music, decorations, conversation, laughter and love.

For Jo, family always came first. That devotion never wavered.

Neither did her determination. The persistence that carried Jo through so many chapters of her life remained with her until its final moments. Even as her body grew tired, her heart remained remarkably strong until she drew her last breath—a fitting reflection of the woman her family had always known: strong in spirit, steadfast in her faith in the Lord, and unwavering in the unconditional love she gave to those around her.

Her legacy lives not only in the family she leaves behind, but in the values she quietly passed from one generation to the next: love without conditions, strength without fanfare, faith expressed through service, compassion without judgment, perseverance through adversity, and the importance of making room at the table for others.

Jo lived humbly, loved deeply and gave generously of herself. To her family, she was their matriarch, their constant and their home. She will be deeply missed, lovingly remembered and forever carried forward in the lives of those she touched.

A funeral Mass celebrating Jo’s life will be held Friday, October 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Irvine, California. A reception will follow in the parish hall. Jo will be laid to rest beside her husband, John, at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California.

Those wishing to honor Jo’s memory are welcome to send flowers; however, in keeping with her generous spirit, Jo would have preferred a memorial gift to a charity meaningful to you.