Obituary of Josephine Semko

JOSEPHINE MARIE (RAJAKOVICH) SEMKO On Friday, August 20, 2021, age 93, of Palm Coast, Florida, formerly of Braddock Hills. Beloved wife of 60 years of the late Frank Semko; mother of Fred (Melanie) Semko, Richard (Lynn) Semko, Ronald (Linda) Semko, Donna (Dr. William) Wilkinson; grandmother of Christa Semko, Dr. Katherine (Yeshwant Dattatreya) Wilkinson, David (Natalie) Semko, William Wilkinson, Jason (Calista) Semko, Ronald (Angela) Semko Jr., and Kelly Semko; great grandmother of Ronald J. Semko, Asha Dattatreya, Teagan Semko, and Stella Semko; sister of Frances (Zeleznik) Acmovic and the late Thomas Rock, Joseph "Yosky" Rajakovich, Anna Ondrejsco, Frank "Ducky" Rajakovich, Catherine Rajakovich, and Mary Janov; numerous nieces and nephews. Josephine was born on June 11, 1928 to the late Florian Rajakovich and Katherine Baron, both immigrants from Kostanjevac, Croatia. She graduated from Rankin High School in 1946 and began working at Ohringer Furniture Store in Braddock. Josephine and Frank were married on September 24, 1949, and she was a devoted Navy wife during her husband's 30-year military career that included relocations to Belle Harbor, NY; Middletown, RI; Columbus, OH; Jacksonville, FL; and Arlington, VA. Although Josephine devoted most of her time to raising her four children, she worked part-time at Lazarus Department Store in Columbus and started a 30-year full-time career in the banking industry at First Virginia Bank in Arlington, followed by positions at Equibank and PNC Bank in Pittsburgh. Josephine was proud of her Croatian heritage and was a member of Lodge 6 of the Croatian Fraternal Union for more than 60 years. Friends received 6-8 p.m. TUESDAY ONLY, September 14 at the THOMAS L. NIED FUNERAL HOME, INC., 7441 Washington St., Swissvale. Mass of Christian Burial in the St. Maurice Roman Catholic Church, Wednesday morning, September 15 at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow in the Braddock Catholic Cemetery. The family requests that material tributes take the form of contributions to any military related charity in memory of Josephine.