SMYRNA - Josephine Rebecca (McVaugh) Deats, age 96, of Smyrna, passed away peacefully at the Delaware Hospice House, Milford, on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Josephine was born in Hockessin, the daughter of the late Edith H. and John M. McVaugh, where she worked in the mushroom house alongside her family. Later, she married her late husband of 46 years, George J. Deats, and worked alongside him on their farm in Smyrna, as well working as a homemaker. She enjoyed travelling, cooking, knitting, sewing, and Phillies baseball, but her greatest love was being around her family and friends. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Norma J. Hartnett; two sisters, Helen Knowles and Esther Basher; and a brother, Charles McVaugh Sr. Josephine will be dearly missed by her grandson, George L. Hartnett and his wife Susan of Magnolia; a grandson, Matt Hartnett of Smyrna; a granddaughter, Nadine Pepper of Dover; five great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; a sister, Edith H. Davis, of Pike Creek; and a brother, John M. McVaugh Jr. and his wife Phyllis of Hockessin; and many other family and friends. Services will be 11 a.m., Monday, March 12, at Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home, 123 W. Commerce St., Smyrna, where friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Hockessin Friends Meeting Cemetery, Hockessin. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Delaware Hospice Inc., 911 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901. To send a condolence letter, visit www.matthewsbryson.com. Arrangements are by Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Smyrna.