This is my mother’s life story written in her own words when she was eighty four years old.  She was in the beginning stages of dementia, yet she was able to tell her life story to a social worker at an adult day care that her and my father attended.

I’m 84 years old. My name is Rosemary but some people call me Rose.  I remember a childhood friend who used to call me Rosie (Mary O’Toole).  I will be married for 62 years in October.  We were married October 15, 1955.  My son, Robert Johnny, has converted his garage into a living area for us, with a living room and a bedroom, so now we live with him in West Long Branch.  He and his wife, Judy have a daughter Adriana, 8 years old, who wants to be a doctor or a nurse, and who also wants to take care of me!  Judy is from Portugal and has quite a large family, 11 sisters, I think.  She also had a brother, but he was killed in a motorcycle accident. In Portuguese, Judy is called Maria.  This is Robert Johnny’s second marriage, he has 2 beautiful daughters from his first marriage, Noel, 30 who lives in Florida, and Katie, who is 25.

I’ve had a lot of jobs.  The first one was a mother’s helper when I was 16. I worked for the Hollander family, who had 2 little boys.  The youngest I remember was Marshall.  I went with them to their cabin at a lake for the summer and took care of the boys.  Then I was a waitress for a while and I was not too good at that.  I worked in a Jewish Deli that was always crowded and I was trying to serve a lot of people.  It seemed that I got this one particular couple as customers a lot and I always got their order mixed up. I did not last long at that job, I got fired.

I worked in a hospital in the dietary department and delivered trays, sometimes worked in the office and did a little work keeping the food warm in the ovens.  A lot happened in my life and then at 59, I graduated from Vocational School in Nursing and went to work in a nursing home.

I met my husband at a dance held at Hotel Granada in Brooklyn.  I think I was 22 at the time. After the dance, we continued the dancing fun at an Irish bar.  The dances we went to were innocent fun and a great way to meet people.  We got home late that night and my mother was not happy.  We dated for a little while and then broke up.  I was so sad and I missed him very much.  I was on a religious retreat and I told the priest that I missed Bob and he gave me this advice: write him a letter, tell him you miss him and tell him to call you this Wednesday night.  If he calls, you know he is interested and if he doesn’t, you know he isn’t.  I followed his advice, wrote the letter to Bob, and he called on Wednesday night!  We got married and had 6 children.  I already mentioned Robert Johnny, who we live with in West Long Branch; our daughter, Maureen lives in Texas and after teaching for 30 years, she became a counselor; our son, Paul, lives in Brick; our son, Gerard passed away; our son Bill lives in South Amboy; and our daughter Rosemarie, who is a 4^th grade teacher, lives in Freehold.  Here’s Bob now…I’m going to get my hair done.

Additions made by Rosemarie Valinotti (daughter):

My mom was very humble and left out a few details from her life story.  When she graduated from Manual Training High School in 1951, she trained as a baby nurse at the New York Foundling Hospital and graduated in 1953.  She worked as a baby nurse until she married my dad, and was pregnant with my brother Gerard.  She adored babies and kids her entire life.

The waitressing story was so my mother, but she also left out the fact that she waitressed for years and worked at the Buttonwood Manor in Matawan and The American Hotel in Freehold.  At times she held two waitressing jobs at the same time when my dad lost his job in the mid 1970s.

She was always reinventing herself and ALWAYS had a positive attitude toward life.  After retiring from being an LPN at the nursing home, she decided to try acting.  She took acting classes in New York and auditioned all over the city.  She landed a few commercials including a campaign commercial for the candidate Barack Obama and even one for the Golden Coral restaurant.

She was filled with a positive joy and zest for life and was always the first laugh you heard as you entered any family party or gathering.  She enveloped everyone she knew with genuine love that flowed from a heart that was as big as her smile.

Her biggest and best role was as a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother.  When she wrapped you in her arms with her warm, loving hugs, you felt safe and nurtured and loved beyond measure.  Her legacy is her family, and passing along her faith to each one of us. She loved God with all her heart and had a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.  She was the president of The Legion of Mary at St. Thomas the Apostle in Old Bridge for many years.  She was also an active member of the New Jersey Right to Life for many years.  She was devoted to protecting and fostering all human life.  She went on countless Marches for Life in Washington, DC and loved and wanted to protect babies and all human beings from the moment of conception  onward.

She is now in heaven with my dad, who died on November 25, 2022.  They were married for 67 years.  Their love is a role model to all of us, and they taught us what true love and the sacrament of marriage is all about.  Each morning when they were living with Rob and Judy, they would tell each other “I love you” at the breakfast table. They were in their late eighties and both in declining health but they never lost the love they had for one another.    Rosemary Goldrick will be dearly, dearly missed, but never ever forgotten by those who loved her.

Visitation Wednesday, December 20th 4:00-8:00 pm at the Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home, 10 Morrell Street, Long Branch.  Mass of Christian burial Thursday, December 21st, 10:30 am at St. Jerome RC Church, West Long Branch.

For messages of condolence, please visit Rosemary’s page of tributes at www.woolleyboglioli.com.