The CSRT mourns the passing of Josephine (Jo) Picone, the longest serving, active member of our organization. She passed away on November 23, 2017 after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer at the age of 88. Jo was a dedicated lifelong member of the CSRT, as well as the New England Conference of Radiologic Technologists and the ASRT. She joined the CSRT in 1957 and participated in and chaired numerous committees including being editor of the Roentgen Ray Newsletter. She was a practicing radiologic technologist for 67 years and at the time of her death was the oldest active R.T. in the U.S.

Jo co-chaired the Legislative Committee in the early days and was a tireless fighter for licensure at the Capitol for decades. The Radiation Safety Bill was finally signed into law in 1993 by Gov. Weicker. But she did not stop there and continued her efforts at the national level representing the CSRT in Washington D.C. pursuing the passage of the C.A.R.E. Bill. These efforts led to her receiving the John Archer Outstanding Achievemment Award in 1994 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, the CSRT’s highest honor. In 2015, this award was renamed the Josephine Picone Lifetime Achievement Award. Her total dedication to her profession was demonstrated at our annual conference this October – 6 weeks before her death – which she attended and was honored to present this award to Bill Hennessy.

Jo lived by the words of baseball legend Jackie Robinson whom she admired – “ A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Her spirit, love and dedication to her family and profession are a remarkable testament to this and she will be sorely missed. Jo is survived by her 4 loving children, a sister, 8 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren to which she was totally dedicated. Our condolences go out to all of her family and friends.