Skip to content

Josephine C. (Camerlengo) Tanner

Family & friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Friday, December 8th from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Vertuccio & Smith, Home for Funerals, 773 Broadway (Rte. 107), REVERE, for Josephine C. (Camerlengo) Tanner, who passed following a brief illness on Thursday, November 30th, at her residence at Prospect House, Revere. Her funeral will be conducted from the funeral home on Saturday, December 9th, at 10:00 a.m., followed by a funeral mass in the Immaculate Conception Church (Corner of Beach St. & Winthrop Ave.), REVERE at 11:00 a.m. A peculiar coincidence is that her passing came two days, following the 75th anniversary (November 28, 1942) of the infamous “Coconut Grove” fire in Boston’s Back Bay. Josephine was there & present. When her group arrived late for an evening at the club, they were seated in the small lounge at the front of the building, and most probably, the major reason why they survived the tragedy.

Born to Bernardino & Maria (Marone) Camerlengo; humble, Italian immigrants in East Boston, the family came to settle in Revere when Josephine was a little girl. She was an outstanding student & was a graduate of East Boston High School, Class of 1937. She went to Boston Secretarial School & was an alumna of the Class of 1939. Josephine joined the U.S. Navy (Waves) in December of 1942 and served with the rank of Seaman 2nd class until her discharge in January of 1946. She was a proud member of the military and a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary, American Legion Post #61 of Revere. Josephine “Auntie Joe” began her career at Forbes Lithograph & remained there until 1952, when she began her tenure at the Metropolitan District Planning Commission. There, she soon rose to the position of “Executive Secretary”, which she held for thirty-three (33) years, retiring in 1985. To her death, she still had several friends from her days at the M.D.P.C.  In November of 1977, she was widowed by the untimely & unexpected demise of her dear husband, Louis A. Tanner, Jr. The couple was childless & Josephine soon became the “surrogate” Mom, Grandmother & Great-Grandmother to her many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces & nephews & great-grand nieces & nephews, a position, she thrived upon. Her fraternal associations, were several, the Daughters of Italy (Ladies Lodge) at the Giuseppe Mazzini Lodge of Revere, the Winthrop Improvement & Historical Association & the Dante Aligheri Society of Massachusetts & the Revere Society for Cultural & Historic Preservation Inc. However, keeping in mind, that Josephine was an ardent & proud member of the “Greatest Generation”, she regaled in detail, the responsibilities that one assumes when joining fraternal organizations, i.e. supporting the society, physically and monetarily. Her days were filled with meetings, luncheons, and planning activities that often occupied her schedule until late in the evening. Her life style, made a change about two years ago, when she made her move to “Prospect House”.

She was the dear sister of the late Mildred Gargiulo & her late husband, Gerald M., Ann A. Savoia & her late husband, Charles, Margheritta C. Sachs, Olivia R. Giglio & her late husband, Jerry & William B. Camerlengo & his late wife, Claire. She is the devoted aunt to Angela Howell of Cape Coral, FL, Richard Giglio & his wife, Joanne of Raleigh, North Carolina, Beryl Segal of Waianae, Hawaii, Carl Savoia of Revere, Geralyn A. Gargiulo & her husband, Brian Parrell of Revere & No. Conway, NH., Meryle Sachs of Pacific Grove, Calif. & Maria Camerlengo of Salem, NH, Lawrence “Larry” Powers of Winthrop & Louis Powers of Southboro, MA & Joanne Grimes & her husband, Paul of Olney, Maryland. She is also lovingly survived by her God-daughter, Patricia Hazzard & her husband, Robert of Worcester, many faithful & respectful grand-nieces & nephews & great-grand-nieces & nephews. For over 45 years, Josephine was a Winthrop resident before moving to back to Revere at the Prospect House three years ago. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett.


Services

Visiting Hours

Friday, December 8th from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Funeral Mass

Saturday, December 9th at 11:00 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church, Revere

Interment

Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the American Legion Post #61, “Restoration Fund”, 249 Broadway, Revere, MA 02151.

Return to Obituaries

Send your condolences.

(required)
(required)

Note: HTML is allowed. Your email address will never be published or shared.

To all our families, friends, and residents of Revere, East Boston, and surrounding communities of the North Shore,

We would like to announce that after 37 years of caring for thousands of families at our 773 Broadway location, on January 31st, 2023 we will be officially RELOCATING, to our new location at 262 Beach St., Revere.
On September 30th, 2022, we proudly purchased the Vazza “Beechwood” Funeral Home – DiPietro and Vazza, Inc. A name that has served families for 102 years. We feel blessed that with all of the interest, the Vazza Family chose us to carry on their century old business and family name. We will become Vertuccio Smith & Vazza, Beechwood Home for Funerals. We will continue to honor the Vazza name and continue our commitment the same way that we always have. We also look forward to having both Louis Vazza and Jessica Vazza Ferragamo alongside of us, as we come together as one.
Our reputation has always been our biggest asset. For many years people always wanted us to have a larger facility, now our facility is the largest funeral home in the area. We will be making many beautiful upgrades to allow our families to have the most elegant facility to honor their loved one.
Although this announcement is bittersweet, as we say goodbye to our home, we are forever grateful for all of you for placing your constant faith and trust in us to care for your loved one. We will continue to do what we are best known for.
Thank you for your friendship and continued support.
God bless you all.
Faithfully,

Your friends at Vertuccio Smith and Vazza.

To all our families, friends, and residents of Revere, East Boston, and surrounding communities of the North Shore,

We would like to announce that after 37 years of caring for thousands of families at our 773 Broadway location, on January 31st, 2023 we will be officially RELOCATING, to our new location at 262 Beach St., Revere.

On September 30th, 2022, we proudly purchased the Vazza “Beechwood” Funeral Home – DiPietro and Vazza, Inc. A name that has served families for 102 years. We feel blessed that with all of the interest, the Vazza Family chose us to carry on their century old business and family name. We will become Vertuccio Smith & Vazza, Beechwood Home for Funerals. We will continue to honor the Vazza name and continue our commitment the same way that we always have. We also look forward to having both Louis Vazza and Jessica Vazza Ferragamo alongside of us, as we come together as one.

Our reputation has always been our biggest asset. For many years people always wanted us to have a larger facility, now our facility is the largest funeral home in the area. We will be making many beautiful upgrades to allow our families to have the most elegant facility to honor their loved one.

Although this announcement is bittersweet, as we say goodbye to our home, we are forever grateful for all of you for placing your constant faith and trust in us to care for your loved one. We will continue to do what we are best known for.

Thank you for your friendship and continued support.

God bless you all.

Faithfully,

Your friends at Vertuccio Smith and Vazza.