Joss, Mayde, 1900-1987
Dates
- Existence: 1900 - 1987
Biography
Mayde Joss was born Delilah May Gigax on January 9, 1900, at Buck Grove, Crawford County, Iowa, the daughter of Frederick W. Gigax (1876-1950) and Stella M. Carpenter Gigax (1872-1945). She married Robert Edmore Joss (1896-1930) in 1923 and settled into domestic life in Joss’s hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Before Robert Joss’s early death in 1930, the couple had three children: Marianne Jane Joss (born December 2, 1924), Bette Louise Joss (born January 24, 1927), and Robert A. Joss (born October 31, 1928). A young widow, Mayde Joss left Canada with her children in 1930 to take up residence with her parents, then living at Louisville, Kentucky. The family eventually resettled in Fort Wayne, Indiana. No later than 1947, Joss had moved to Evanston, Illinois, accepting a position as housemother for the local chapter of Phi Delta Theta, a fraternity located the campus of Northwestern University. Much admired by the brothers of Phi Delta Theta, Joss remained with the fraternity as its housemother for 26 years before retiring. She remained in Evanston, taking up residence at The Mather Home. Joss died at Evanston, November 16, 1987, survived at the time by her three children, fourteen grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren, and fondly remembered by generations of Phi Delta Thetans.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Mayde Joss (1900-1987) Photographs
Mayde Joss served as housemother for Northwestern's chapter of Phi Delta Theta, a fraternity located the campus of Northwestern University, from 1947 to 1973. The Mayde Joss collection consists of 33 small format black-and-white photographic prints and 13 35mm color slides. The photographs appear to date from the late 1940s or early 1950s, Joss’s early years as housemother for Phi Delta Theta fraternity.