Who was: Josefina “Joey” Guerrero?
Reminds me that when i worked in DC for NANESA in 1967-68, there was a former volunteer--nurse i think--who had…
Josefina “Joey” Guerrero, as this author writes, was an incredible, formidable, brave, and humble woman who deserves to be recognized and celebrated. She faced hardships her entire life—being orphaned, getting diagnosed with Hansen’s Disease, watching her home country fall into the chaos and destruction of war, living under forced quarantine in Louisiana, facing racism and discrimination in the United States. But she always believed that she was here for a greater purpose, and her faith never wavered. Rather than wallow in illness, she took advantage of her diagnosis to spy for the Allies. Rather than wither away in leprosariums, she shined a light on the disease to advocate for better care and treatment for others. Rather than let her life drift away, she held it with both hands; she went to college in her 40s, got a master’s degree, joined the Peace Corps. She was truly an astonishing woman.
From what I have been able to find out, she was granted American citizenship. She lived in Arlington. Along with remarrying, she worked as a secretary, volunteered with the Peace Corps at HQ, and was an usher at the Kennedy Center. She died in 1996 at the age of 78. John Coyne
‘worked’ for the Peace Corps in D.C. in the early days of the agency, lived in Arlington, and passed away in the ’50s.
Reminds me that when i worked in DC for NANESA in 1967-68, there was a former volunteer–nurse i think–who had served in Afghanistan. She had an accent, and she was interested in handwriting. Once, she looked over my shoulder and when “tss tss tss,” and when i looked up she would not tell me what my poor handwriting revealed, She was a pleasure in the office.