Rosalie M. Gardner

Rosalie Melvena (Newman) Gardner, age 87, of Winchester, Ohio passed away peacefully at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio on February 29, 2024.

Born July 13, 1936 to Leo and Dorothy Newman of Otway, Ohio.

Rosalie was the second oldest of 6 children.

Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth, of almost 70 years. Kenneth passed away on June 25, 2022.

Rosalie married Kenneth Gardner on November 29, 1952 in West Union, Ohio. Together, they raised 6 children alongside their own siblings and created a large number of lasting family memories with many nieces and nephews.

There are 6 surviving children - Lawanda (John) Carrell, Donna (Charley) Bryan, Cindy Gardner and Kelly (Kenneth Kapaun) Gardner.

Heather Carrell (with Fiancee Joe Lampton), daughter of John and Lawanda, is a grand-daughter of Rosalie's that she loved dearly.

Rosalie has one other special "child" that she often spoiled. "Gracie" is her gray and white house cat that Rose always called "Grandma's Girl". Gracie would follow Rose to the kitchen every morning and sit at her feet begging for a treat.

Rosalie and Kenneth have 2 other adult children and 4 other adult grandchildren that willingly chose to detach from their life and their unconditional love. This kept Rosalie and Kenneth from getting to know their only great grandchildren.

These 8 surviving great grandchildren spent very limited time making lifelong memories of their own with Rosalie. They are Braymer Chambers, Hayden Gardner, Sophie Richards, Eli Gardner, Amaya Richards, Georgia Gardner, Jackson Gardner and Addison Gardner. Rosalie cried many times because she was not given the opportunity to know them.

Rosalie never worked outside of the home but stayed plenty busy raising her 6 children. Although some days she might have dreamed about having any other "Career".

After her children had graduated from school, you might think Rose would take a break but she didn't. She became a certified baby sitter and helped raise several children from local families in her home. Rosalie was a babysitter for 10 years.

Rosalie enjoyed many of life's simple pleasures. This included going to church beside her husband Kenneth, special church singing with Joyce and Eva Hoffer, working in her flower beds, visiting friends and family, gardening, cooking, canning, and fishing just to name a few. Rose always had a dessert made every weekend for the family to eat after getting home from church services every Sunday night.

Rosalie spent the last 7 years of her life confined to a wheelchair. She would often wonder how she was going to live life from a chair.

She quickly learned that it wasn't the end of the road... but merely a detour and a chance for her to learn a new way of doing things.

Rosalie had developed a special bond with her home health aide named Sarah. Sarah quickly felt like family and she spent many days helping Rose with baking, crafting, cooking, shopping and even insisted Rose help decorate the house for Christmas. Rosalie might have been hesitant but she was always smiling and soon became very proud of her accomplishments.

Rosalie loved her family and was always willing to feed anyone that was in need. Any guest that visited Rose at her home was quickly offered a meal or even just a dessert to show her welcoming heart to all of her guests. Raising 6 kids might have given her lots of experience along the way.

If Rosalie were able to speak today, she would give you one piece of advice. She would say "Life is precious and to always tell those dear to you that you love them."

Thompson Funeral Home has the honor of serving this family.

To sign Rosalie's online guestbook please visit www.thompsonfuneralhomes.com or, to leave a like, comment or share, visit the Thompson Funeral Home & Cremation Care Facebook Page.