Josephine “Josie” Maloney was such a frequent and friendly shopper at the Towson mall that many of the store clerks knew her by name.

She could often be found skating through the aisles, picking out the trendiest outfits. Some, she’d keep for herself, and others, she’d ship off to her children and grandchildren. She got in so many steps walking around the mall that her family thinks the exercise helped her live as long as she did. Or it could have been the oranges she ate every day for breakfast.

Maloney, an independent, feisty and eccentric woman who spent much of her life in Baltimore as a bartender at The Drinkery, died on Nov. 8 of cerebrovascular disease. She was just about a month shy of her 93rd birthday.

“My grandma always did things her way,” said Maloney’s grandson, Ben Hawkins. “It was the only way.”

Maloney was born in Pennsylvania on Dec. 13, 1931. She had a tough childhood: Her mother died when she was 3, and then her father dropped her off at an orphanage and disappeared. Her sister helped her get out when she was 13.

A few years later, she met her husband, and they had three children, whom Maloney adored. But the marriage was troubled, and when they divorced, Maloney picked up her things and moved to Maryland for a fresh start.

“She was a really unique human being who suffered a lot and had to deal with a lot, and she got up and did it,” said John Hartin, a social worker who knew Maloney late in life. “I don’t know anybody else who could have dealt with it. And yet, with that same toughness, there was also a kindness and a concern about other people that was just extraordinary.”

Maloney started working as a waitress at the White Coffee Pot in Pikesville. One day, a man walked in and told her she’d make a great bartender at one of the bars he owned — and she’d make a great girlfriend, too.

So began two of Maloney’s greatest love stories: her 45-year relationship with John William “Reds” O’Donahue and, some years down the road, her 33-year career mixing cocktails at The Drinkery, an alternative bar that O’Donahue opened in Mount Vernon in 1972.

“She used to say that they were like family to her, because she would go in there and they would just treat her so well,” said Maloney’s granddaughter, Tracey Nava. “She was the queen of the bar, and she would just serve away.”

Maloney made friends everywhere she went. She never owned a car and somehow convinced people to drive her wherever she needed to be — usually the nearest shopping center, loved ones said.

Still, she valued her independence above all else, perhaps because of her difficult upbringing, Nava said. Maloney loved O’Donahue, but she refused to marry him or move in with him. When O’Donahue died in 2004, he left The Drinkery to Maloney, who decided to sell the business and retire.

Maloney used fashion to express herself, and she was quite the shopaholic and fashionista, Hawkins said. Later in life, when she moved to a senior living community in Towson, she had extra closets installed in her room to fit all of her clothes, the retirement home wrote in an introductory post about her.

“She dressed better than anybody in their teens and 20s,” Hawkins said. “She would have a shirt that she liked, and she would buy it in every color.”

Maloney had a “big personality” and would tell it like it is, said Jennifer Gilbert St. John, Maloney’s former neighbor and friend of about two decades. Sometimes that included some colorful language — but most of the time, she was known for her favorite saying, “It’s whatever.” She didn’t care for drama and had a very light-hearted approach to life, her family said. “It’s whatever” was the manifestation of that worldview.

She loved traveling with friends and family, and a trip to her ancestral Italy was one of her favorite vacations.

Maloney was also a bit of a foodie, and she loved going out to eat, they said. She enjoyed patronizing chain restaurants, including Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays and The Cheesecake Factory, but in Baltimore, her favorite local spot was Restaurante Tío Pepe.

Maloney wasn’t much of a cook, said St. John, but she still took on the grandmotherly responsibility of feeding the employees who tended the pool at the condo building they used to share, she said. Maloney loved sitting by the water and relaxing, and she befriended all the lifeguards, St. John said.

“Her legacy is one of loving, kindness and generosity,” St. John said. “She made everyone that she encountered smile and feel like they were having a better day because of the light that she was.”

Maloney leaves behind Nava; her partner, Kikey Nunez; and their children, Alyssa and Destiny; as well as Hawkins, his wife Ashley, and their children, Beckham and Monroe. But her death also reunites Maloney with O’Donahue and her own three beloved children, Kathleen, Jimmy and Patricia.

A celebration of life is scheduled on Nov. 22 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson.

The Banner publishes news stories about people who have recently died in Maryland. If your loved one has passed and you would like to inquire about an obituary, please contact obituary@thebaltimorebanner.com. If you are interested in placing a paid death notice, please contact groupsales@thebaltimorebanner.com or visit this website.