Eleanor Josaitis Remembered

In all, more than 300 articles in publications across the country paid tribute this week to Eleanor Josaitis. The beloved metro Detroit community leader succumbed to cancer at Angela Hospice Tuesday; she was 79 years old.

With the late Rev. William Cunningham, Josaitis co-founded Focus: HOPE in 1968, in the wake of race riots that left Detroit a battered and even more racially divided city. The organization provides job training, as well as programs and food for the poor and elderly.

Josaitis was memorialized by a number of metro area columnists. Ron Dzwonkowski in today's Detroit Free Press called her "the perfect embodiment of Focus: HOPE because she never lost her focus on helping people or her hope that Detroit would see better days." Freep columnist Rochelle Riley recalled a story that demonstrated Josaitis' good humor, even in the face of outrageous sexism. Also in the Detroit daily, Stephen Henderson shared a memory yesterday of how his life was touched by "the Josaitis effect" at a very young age.

On Sunday, Mitch Albom paid tribute in a Freep column written as Josaitis rested in hospice care. He wrote about her humility and her legacy: "she proved you don't need a degree, a license or an election to help people."

At the Detroit News, Laura Berman called Josaitis "modest woman with immodest goals ... the mission was nothing less than ending racism and poverty." In an extensive obituary, Kim Kozlowski recounts how Josaitis moved her large family from Taylor to Detroit after the riots, to help rebuild the city and work toward racial harmony. Kozlowski also amassed a collection of tributes from Detroit area leaders – as did the Free Press.

Detroit News blogger Neal Rubin wrote about the only "fitting tribute" to Josaitis, and the News published a collection of photos taken throughout her career with Focus: HOPE. Editorials were published in her honor in both the News and Free Press.

In The Oakland Press, Rev. Lawrence Ventline wrote about how he was personally touched by Josaitis, whom he considered a mentor.

Eleanor Josaitis' funeral will be held Saturday at Church of the Blessed Sacrament on Woodward, with visitation Friday at Church of the Madonna in Detroit, WXYZ TV reports.