Rosalie simply loved life, always smiling, doing for others and looking for the bright spot. When diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukemia in early 2017, her response was “I can’t worry. I have no time. I’m busy. That’s my motto”. She loved being around people and had a special way of making everyone that came into her life feel welcome and comfortable.
She loved entertaining, cooking and crafts and excelled at all of these. She loved spending time with her family and friends, from playing golf to sipping tea. She loved surprising her children with new recipes or their favorite snacks and dinners. She was a great wife, mother, friend, sister and aunt but what she was truly amazing at was being a grandmother to Sammy, Christopher and Valentina.
The first one to jump up and play whatever the grandkids wanted. The first one to jump in and help out her children by saying “I will take care of them, you go and relax”. As soon as the door opened, she was there to light up their lives with a big hug and kiss. Or a phone or video call to say hi and how much she was looking forward to seeing them in person again. Even when she as not with them, she was always thinking about them and doing something for them. From making them stuffed animals to picking out matchbox cars or finding what little gift she could hide in her “magic pockets” for the next time she saw them. She had a close and special relationship with each one of them as she really understood them as individuals and also understood that her role as a Grandma was a special one.
Rosalie set the bar high. It is our hope that we all take our favorite part that made her great and incorporate that more into our own lives. Seeing how hard she fought to survive her diagnosis and her love for her grandkids is the reason why we have chosen to remember her by donating to St. Jude.
Your generous donation and loving thoughts are a light of hope to St. Jude children and their families. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
It costs a lot for St. Jude to cure a child with cancer using the latest technologies and care. But because of donations, the price for patient families is $0. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for anything.
Many families come to St. Jude thinking it's like any other hospital. They expect to pay high fees to get their child the best care. They're overwhelmed with gratitude when they learn St. Jude works to save their child's life for free using world-class care.
Your donations make this possible and give parents hope.
Thank you for being part of her life and part of our lives,
Gene, Debbie, Pam & Art, and Cristina & Joe