Josephine Chaus

Josephine Chaus, was chairwoman and cofounder of Bernard Chaus Inc., and one of the first female chief executive officers of a public company. Thrust into the position of running Chaus when her husband Bernard died in 1991, Josephine Chaus led the fashion firm through many tumultuous years. Born Josephine Augello on Aug. 25, 1951, she grew up in Searingtown, L.I. She studied at the University of Miami but didn’t receive her undergraduate degree because she ran out of money, said her son. Exhibiting a strong interest in fashion, she became a buyer for a New Jersey store at the age of 22, when she met the 44-year old Bernard Chaus in 1973. After a year traveling together cross-country by motorcycle, they became partners of a newly created company, Bernard Chaus Inc. in 1975. They married three years later. Besides her son Ariel, she is survived by another son, Aaron, and daughters-in-law, Robin and Lacey and three granddaughters.