Julia "Josephine" Mathews, 92, Independence, Missouri, died Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at Carmel Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Independence. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 14, 2014 at the Atkinson Funeral Home in Harrisonville, Missouri with visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Burial will be in Glenwild Cemetery in Cleveland, Missouri. Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Hospice, 1001 E. 101st Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64131.

Josephine was born December 13, 1921 in Somerset, Kansas, the daughter of James Leary and Julia (Fischell) Morgan. She attended West Line School and was a lifelong resident of West Line, Missouri. Her dad taught her to play the harmonica at an early age and she played it the rest of her life. She married William "Burton" Mathews on August 25, 1937 in Butler, Missouri. Josephine was baptized on September 19, 1965 at the West Line Christian Church. She had worked for F. W. Woolworth's at Truman Corners in Grandview, Missouri, for many years.

Josephine was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Burton on August 16, 1978, one brother, Jack Morgan, one sister, Eleanor Vohs and a son-in-law, George Ruyle. She is survived by two daughters, JoAnn Ruyle, Grain Valley, Missouri and Marilyn Zimmerman (Gary), Salt Lake City, Utah; 4 grandchildren, Rhonda Ivey, Dawn Creswell, Shane Lueker and Stacy Lueker, and 7 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren.