Born: Tu 9 Sep 1930 at Fifth Avenue Hospital, New York City, NY
Father: Eldon GEARHART Spouse: James C SAWYER 1929-2015 4 Children, all living
At right, Rosena at her 2002 anniversary party (SBC) ===>> |
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Rosena was b. Tu 9 Sep 1930 at Fifth Avenue Hospital in the upper-floor 'peacock' wing where 'richies' were born (since the planned ordinary room was already taken). Her name is a contraction of the names of her Grandmother Rosa and her Aunt Rhena. At the time her parents were living in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, NYC, just S of today's LaGuardia airport. On Fr 31 Jul 1931 (~11mos old) the family moved to a nice new home in the Drexel Hills neighborhood of Philly. But as the Depression worsened and they struggled to make the mortgage payments, they moved on Fr 2 Dec 1932 (2yo+) across town to a simpler rental bungalow. Then on Su 31 Dec 1933 (3yo+) they were forced on short notice to move to Altoona, PA, for Eldon's new job. All these moves were related to Eldon's work, scrambling ever harder to make a living selling gasoline and oil products in those tough times. This is when Eldon began to take flying lessons, fascinated along with many others by the new airplanes and related developments. He even sold his motorcycle to focus his spare time and energy (and money) on learning to fly. But on Su 30 Aug 1936 Eldon was finishing up his student flying time with an instructor when on his second flight of the day his plane crashed in a field a few miles south of the small airport at Sunbury, PA. Amazingly, his instructor Mr. SPAID (who sat in the front seat) survived the crash with only broken bones, while Eldon was pronounced dead at the local hospital (after uttering just one word, 'ouch', while being pulled from the wreckage). His widow was pregnant and decided to stay in Altoona until the baby was born in October, then moved the family back to her hometown of Lansing, MI, where many extended family members lived nearby. Baby Willard was born 10/13/36 in Altoona, and the family left that town for Lansing 12/17/36. Sadly, little Willard d. We 19 Jan 1938 in Lansing at just 15mo of influenzal spinal meningitis. After a renewed courtship with Milton BOWMAN, who'd asked 'Margie' to marry him 8 years before but been sidelined by the dashing Eldon, Margie and Milton were married Sa 28 May 1938 in Elkhart, IN, where Milton was about to take on the pastorship of a Brethren Church. He dearly loved Margie AND the girls and was a very good father to them e.g. they all called him 'Daddy' for the rest of his long life. The family moved several times as Milton was assigned to various Brethren churches (the group associated with Ashland College in OH). Rosena attended high school in Nappanee, IN (near Amish country), and graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. At Wheaton, she met Jim SAWYER (1st date May 1949 at Starved Rock State Park in IL west of Chicago), and they were married 17 Jun 1952 in Nappanee.
An article published in the Elkhart (IN) Truth newspaper around the time of Rosena's graduation of High School (Thursday, June? 1948) showed her picture, along with one of Miss FARRINGTON, as Honor Grads at Nappanee HS. "Miss GEARHART was president of the National Honor society, secretary of the student council and vice-president of the Y-Teens. She also was a co-editor of the Annual. Other activities include: Student council, 3 years; National Honor society, dramatics, book store clerk and librarian, 2 years; journalism, Thespian society, GAA and member of the casts of "Little Women" and "Old Doc," one year, and a Y-Teen member, 4 years." She was also Salutatorian of her HS class!
After the wedding the new couple honeymooned at Crystal Lake, MI (1 week?), then headed to Cincinnati, OH, where Jim had accepted a position with Proctor & Gamble corporation. He'd been hired in order to be sent to the P&G-affiliated Pantex company just east of Amarillo, TX, related to the govt's 'nukes' program (Jim remembers the sun in his eyes both driving E from Amarillo in the morning, and then back west toward home in the afternoon). They lived in Cincinnati for about 3 months, as Jim attended a special training course in 'Industrial Engineering' at P&G HQ. They rented an apt there (addr?) from the MILLERs. The company knew Jim and one other new hire (Tony [Pat] BREWER) were 'draft bait' so they were pursuing a govt 'Q Clearance' for both young men. It was early September when Jim, Tony and their wives left to drive (caravan) west to Amarillo, where they all stayed at company expense at the Plainsman Hotel for about 5 weeks. Jim had used ~$1100 Rosena had inherited from Rosena's grandpa (Eldon's father Dervin) to buy their very first car, a used (~30k mi) 1949 maroon-colored Ford (model?). While there Jim received his 'draft notice' from the MN authorities requiring him to 'report for duty' by Mo 6 Oct 1952 (in MN). This would be a 2-year committment, so to 6 Oct 1954. He remembers dryly that it read 'your friends and neighbors [in MN] have selected you' as a promising recruit; nice neighbors, eh? The P&G company 'went to bat' for him, seeking a deferral based on 'critical skills' but that was denied by the state of MN. Perhaps they could've fought longer e.g. with federal authorities, but the company chose not to (perhaps since Jim was just an entry-level employee?). Even so, P&G paid to move their things back to MN (Jim's parents), and Jim and Rosena headed to CO visit his bro Bob and Lois at her folks' ranch, near a very small town not far from Lamar, CO (today ~9k pop). From there they drove to Peru, IN, where Rosena's parents then lived (Milton pastored a church there). Rosena would stay there while Jim was at boot camp in MD. They also left the car there, and Milton was able to teach Rosena how to drive for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, Jim flew to Philly (arrived 10/2) for medical checks, etc. (strip naked, pack ALL his stuff in a box to be sent home, head shaved, get shots, uniform, like cattle ...), after which the Navy sent him (and others) by train to Bainbridge Naval Base at Port Deposit, [NE] MD, for Navy boot camp, which lasted 6 weeks. It was early in boot camp when the officers tried to convince Jim (and the others) to re-up i.e. sign for 4 more years in the Navy, telling him he must chose between being a Naval officer (via NROTC) and being 'lower than whale s--t on the bottom of the ocean' during the next 2 years (and out in civilian life?) :-) ! He held out, though, determined to pursue a career in the business world.
At the end of basic training and based on his qualifications (IQ, college degree, etc., but also further info sent by P&G to the Navy as to why Jim should get a special assignment) Jim was given orders to (after 2 weeks of leave) proceed directly to Sandia National Laboratory (near Kirtland AFB) in S Albuquerque, NM. This special treatment was in contrast to typical boot camp 'graduates', who were mostly assigned eventually to Destroyers aka 'tin cans' (i.e. not very desirable). While they waited, local ofcrs usually gave these 'newbies' dirty jobs like cleaning toilets, etc. Jim left MD for Peru, IN, to pick up Rosena, the car and some household goods, arriving in Albuquerque 8-10 Dec 1952. It took another ~45 days to get his Q Clearance 'updated', meanwhile Jim was assigned menial tasks e.g. cleaning the grounds, etc (unlike in MD he was one of the few new naval recruits present). P&G was still trying to get him discharged early so he could come back to work for them, but Jim's commanding ofcr said (cynically) he's 'essential'. Since, unlike most recruits (crude, career Navy guys), he was educated and didn't seem to 'fit', one fellow recruit warned the others; 'SAWYER's a spy from the CIA so watch out'!? How to respond, since they won't believe the truth, and may perhaps treat you better if they think its true. It was during this time living near the base in Albuquerque that Jim and Rosena were able to see alot of Jim's bro Bob and wife Lois, who amazingly were also stationed there (Bob had been drafted into the Army). After the updated Q Clearance arrived, Jim and others in his crew were specially trained to handle carrier-born 'nukes' for several months to Nov 1953. At that time he was given his new Navy orders, so in Nov 1953 Jim and Rosena left Albuquerque in their latest car, a 1952 4-dr Plymouth Cranbrook, and drove to Norfolk, VA. There they found a small apartment, and Jim reported to the local Naval Air Station in late Nov, early Dec 1953. Soon after, the Navy flew Jim and fellow crewmen to Jacksonville, FL. From there they were driven to nearby Mayport Naval (Operational) Base, where the (CVA-39) USS Lake Champlain carrier (see pic below, ? class, 2800 crew, later replaced w/even heavier Midway class) and several Destroyers were based. After a few weeks, Jim left on that carrier for a 3-month 'tour', while Rosena stayed in a 2-bdrm apartment near the base rented from Ruby BROWN, who also lived there. Interestingly, it was on Crescent Road in Norfolk. She stayed there from late Dec 1953 to 3 Aug 1954. Meanwhile, after supporting flight training operations off 'Gitmo' the Lake Champlain steamed back to the Navy port at Portsmouth, VA (just across the bay from Norfolk), offloaded its nukes (before going into drydock), and Jim's team was then flown to Brooklyn Navy Yard for their next assignment.
In Brooklyn the team went aboard the USS Bennington, which had undergone major repairs after having experienced boiler damage and losing a whole squadron of planes (aka 'the jinxed ship' for those reasons). The crew camped on board the ship for 2 weeks, then put to sea for another 3-month tour of duty, mostly off the coast of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for naval flight training. This is the same thing the Lake Champlain had done, cruise off the coast to provide for carrier take-offs and landings by naval pilot trainees based at Pensacola, FL. Interestingly, the mission end-date had been moved up by 1 week so that Navy 'brass' could observe some new experimental aircraft (which planes?) testing at Norfolk. So the carrier arrived at Norfolk 1 week early to do the customary 1-week overlap with the new crew for training. Jim got off the ship on Fr 28 May 1954. The next day (Sa) it left for Quonset Point, RI, and en route the next day (Su) experienced an explosion in the catapult system, which 'blew' through the ventilation ductwork, killing 127 crewmen, including the man who replaced Jim and indeed about half of Jim's replacement team (Wow, close call, providential)! Jim spent the rest of his time in the Navy at the Norfolk Navy base. Around 6/10 Jim took a 'plant trip' to Grand Haven, flying into Muskegon where Abe KIEFT met him (with his 1953 Plymouth), meeting Frank and others at the GH factory, etc. Then baby #1 was b. Th 6/24 at the (nearby) Portsmouth Navy Hospital and Grandma (Margie) was there to help Rosena. For the rest of Jim's duty time, he was once again assigned boring menial work e.g. watch, cleanup duty, etc. His last day of military service was We 2 Aug. So the next day, Th 3 Aug 1954, Jim's 1st day as a civilian, they packed up the car/trailer in Norfolk, VA, to drive W to Grand Haven, MI, with 'baby on board' for a new adventure (stopping at Peru to visit and pick up a few things stored there).
Rosena did some fulltime teaching when they lived in Albuquerque, NM, for most of 1953. She also did some occasional substitute teaching while living with Ruby near the Navy base at Norfolk when Jim was out to sea on his 2 3-month tours of duty. After that, though, she focused on being a good wife and mother and never worked outside the home again. While generally conservative in her evangelical Christian faith, social values and politics (voting GOP), she was always deeply compassionate toward people and their many problems and struggles. She was never big on political debates or in general competition of any sort. A funny family story is how, when she'd play cards (or any games, which the SAWYER boys are known for loving and playing), she'd become so nervous at the competitive aspect of it that she'd need a 'hand towel' to dry her sweating palms to avoid ruining the cards! But of course she LOVED being with people, even if it meant enduring the anxious competition.
As Jim was finishing up his Navy service time, he also got an offer to come back to P&G in Cincinnati, which he carefully considered. They'd obviously been very helpful to him on several occasions. But after much discussion with Rosena (and others?) and prayerful consideration they decided they liked the idea of settling in a small town with its relationships and long-term stability v. becoming a 'company man' and probably being asked to make many career-advancing (but family-upsetting) moves.
Note: The USN carriers Langley, Lexington and Saratoga (latter 2 36k tons, ~200 planes) had formed the 1st-generation US carrier fleet, built in the 1920s (TL 'The Carrier War' p34). The next generation of 'fast carriers', built in the wartime 1940s, were 27k-ton Essex-class carriers, which were escorted by 'scores of tiny [8-11k ton] escort carriers (CVEs)' (132, and CVAs? = 'Attack'?). The Bennington took part in the WWII attack on the Japanese super-battleship 'Yamato' ('pride of [their] Navy') on 6 Apr 1945; Yamato sank the next day (p166-7), a huge win for the Allies.
There began a 45-year adventure in Grand Haven, MI (to 1999 when they officially changed their residence to AZ upon moving into Classic Residence Fr 3 Dec 1999). Their first residence was 1243 Fulton St, next door to Screw Machine Specialties (SMS) and also owned by Frank and Abe KIEFT. The property ran all the way from Fulton St N to the Grand River, and the old farmhouse where they lived still remained (now gone) on the grounds. The 'commute' was great i.e. a 100-ft walk next door! I'll add some stories about these years, but a key element was their membership at Lakeshore Baptist Church. When they moved to town, their college friend Frank NELSEN was pastoring a small, struggling Baptist church downtown (1st Baptist Church, corner of Franklin and Despelder streets in GH). He'd been an older ex-vet who'd gone to Wheaton on the GI Bill. Jim remembered fondly how Frank would come by for visits, plop down on Jim's chair, pick up Jim's Coke and magazine and 'make himself at home'! He was unmarried and kind of lonely, so Jim and Rosena encouraged along his relationship with a pretty young girl named Lois NELSEN (no relation) who was then working at Maranatha Bible Camp in nearby Norton Shores (extra color, her dad's very Norse name was Sigurd, he and Clifford would sometimes evangelize together on the 'mean streets' of Grand Rapids). They met Lois on her 1st date w/Frank, since Frank had asked to bring her around to meet them. They liked her, as did Frank, who soon married her. Another factor in choosing a church was that Jim's 2 bosses Abe and Frank went to different churches; Hope Reformed (Frank) and [PB] Gospel Hall (Abe). Both were 'campaigning' for Jim and Rosena to join their churches and already had assignments picked out for them at their churches. The new couple felt it wouldn't be 'politic' to 'chose sides' (and neither shared either background), so they thought it best to pick a 3rd 'neutral' choice to avoid displeasing either boss! It wasn't long before the 25yo college-educated Jim was named to the elder board and soon after he and Rosena to lead the youth group, which they did for many years (into the 1970s). The church grew and eventually relocated to a new property just S of town and W of Lakeshore Drive (hence the name). Pastors in the 'SAWYER' era were 1 Frank (Lois) NELSEN, 2 Wayne (Edna) CHILD, 3 Lloyd (Jo) BOLDT and 4 Phil (Marietta) VanWYNEN.
Less than 2 years after moving to town, Jim and Rosena moved their family from Fulton St to a new home (nearly done when purchased) on 1808 Sheldon Road. It cost ~$14k (!) and they traded a lot they'd bought on Grand Ave (N side just E of Sheldon $1.2k) for $2k, borrowed $2k each from both sets of parents, so took a bank loan for about $8k, which they paid off in a few years. The new home's builders were [Dutchmen] Ben Stehower and Ben Kleinhorseman, and they were interested in the lot as a future building site. They moved in Jan 1956, and baby #2 was b. soon after (Th 17 May 1956). There they stayed til Jan 1965, when they moved into 'the house' (see pic below) on 120 Crescent Dr within view of Lake Michigan. Having sold the Sheldon Rd house in Jun, they rented a house at 1831 Colfax (owned by the Rycenga's, owners of the local lumber shop) for about 6 months til the new home was ready in Jan 1965. Oddly, that neighborhood was almost exclusively occupied by outsiders; the 'natives' seemed not to want to live near the lakeshore and be subject to frequent storms blowing in from the west. Jim had seen plans for that house in Better Homes magazine based on one built in Des Moines, but at the last minute flipped its orientation around so the kitchen was near the road and the master bdrm away from it. They owned that home 19yrs to 1984, when Jim and Rosena moved (10/31/84) to 417 Sandpiper Dr down by the harbor-front. By that time the kids had all 'emptied the nest'. From there in 1992 they moved into a rental unit at 1021 Ohio St (owned by Harold/Barb MINNEMA, 1st cousin of Irene's Aunt Clara [Tante Klaske] !?). The MINNEMAs owned a cottage by the boardwalk (still a name plaque there in 2012) and also a winter place in Sun City?, AZ (see pic). They didn't move out of that apt til 1999 when they moved into Classic Residence (right?) in Scottsdale, AZ (a joint venture of Hyatt and Plaza Corps).
One lovely story involves a challenge by Pastor BOLDT? for LBC members to invite their neighbors to a Bible Study, led by them (the members). Rosena took this challenge very seriously and walked door to door through her neighborhood at 120 Crescent Drive. Many neighbors were nervous, since Rosena was, after all, a BAPTIST (gasp). But the result was a nice monthly Bible Study group that met for years? with faithful members Jo/Jerry HEIN, Tom/Carol WAGASKI (banker), Cal/? BOSMAN (Judge) and Bill/? REDEKER (owned Ford dlrshp). Another similar story was neighbor 'Jane DOE' (we'll call her). She'd been divorced and let's say was not always the sunniest of neighbors. Rosena befriended her, even helping her care for her Mom in latter's last days, and had alot to do with 'Jane's' later conversion to Christianity.
Involvement at LBC was always a HIGH priority to Rosena (and Jim). She was ALWAYS the last member of the family to reach the car (I was the 1st, so I know), wanting to talk with seemingly everyone who attended. She usually sang in the choir, played the piano and was on various committees and planning groups and, of course, Bible Studies and later home fellowships. I especially remember when she and Jim would sing duets and 'Cantatas' on various occasions. That included duets for the sad occasions of Linda COVERLEY's 1974 funeral and Delores ('Dee') DURHAM's 19xx one. One key turning point was in the early 1970s (73-4) when Jim/Rosena and certain others (tho not all) became convinced of the need for small 'home fellowship' groups to personally get to know one another on a deeper level e.g. sharing personal difficulties and struggles. Among Baptists this was not the norm at the time, but it led to a number of very close friendships between Jim/Rosena and e.g. WADDELLs, VanWYNENs ... DODDINGTONs, HARTs ... SEMEREAXs, ZUPANZICs, GILLESPIEs, DOWNEYs ... CURRYs, HOLLEYs, KENRICHs, DOLFFs, HOLMs, HAYNESs ... Jim and Rosena LOVED these groups and continued with them and others for years after, until Rosena's memory and dementia issues made them impossible for her (indeed it was a key aspect of her suffering to lose these close fellowships).
Though she had a strong will at times, Rosena was at heart a woman with 'Victorian' Christian values. She rarely (ever?) filled the car's gas tank and had a poor sense of direction (tho carefully written instructions got her to/from Lansing when her mother needed her help in later years in MI). She let Jim be the leader of the family, though she insisted on having her say.
Around 1964 LBC ran into a serious church discipline issue (Jim enjoyed planning/managing the construction of the Crescent Drive home as a distraction). Its an indication of Rosena's deep committment to the importance of God-honoring church practices that she had a deep disagreement with Jim about how the church should handle this situation. Many people would nowadays write it off as a 'whatever' and move on, but not Rosena. Her pastor-father and conservative Brethren upbringing taught her that church should be close to the center of our communal Christian lives and that it matters ALOT how its run.
Rosena was deeply hurt (JRS: 'inconsolable') when nephew Stephen and niece Susan died (Jan 1977, 1984/5? respectively). Though generally positive and optimistic, these events deeply challenged her sense of how things are supposed to be ...
In year? (1990s) Rosena had a scary brush with cancer, as her dentist ('Dutch' NYBOER) in Spring Lake, MI, found a spot in her mouth which needed to be removed. It was, and a small prosthetic device was custom-made to fill in the space, and fortunately the cancer never returned. I remember that was when she lost alot of weight (a good thing, tho resulting from a big health scare).
Another observation about Rosena from Jim is that she neither gave nor received (not gladly, at least) cynical 'funny' cards for any occasion. While Jim and the boys enjoyed giving and recieving countless examples of these types of greetings (joking about their 'thoughtful and sensitive' nature), they all knew these were 'off limits' for Rosena/Mom, who gave/rcv'd only truly earnest, thoughtful and sensitive cards. Whenever the family got together, she'd want to have (noncynical) 'thoughful conversation' on matters of emotional and 'heartfelt' importance.
When Jim and Rosena moved into Classic Residence (Scottsdale, AZ) Fr 3 Dec 1999, Rosena was already experiencing some memory loss issues, although she was still able to converse and carry on a mostly normal life, especially with Jim's help. The dementia and later 'wasting disease' (side-effect of dementia?) grew worse over time, necessitating her move into the Care Center's 'Memory Support' wing on Tu 24 Jul 2007. This was a tearful day for Jim and son #1 who flew to town to help (I was gone to BC). Jim had suffered a stroke earlier that summer (Tu 6/19, perhaps partly due to stress related to caring for Rosena?) and the family felt it was important to get Rosena into that 'safe place' should anything happen to Jim. After 5 years there, her increasing wandering and (well-meaning) 'holding people's hands' caused problems and forced a move to first Haven Senior Living near downtown Phoenix (short term, few weeks total on 2 occasions), then Silverado Senior Living, specializing in memory loss cases. She moved into the latter We 14 Nov 2012 and began receiving hospice care 2 days later. She died there (sleeping in her favorite couch) at 11:30p Fr 8 Aug 2014. She was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens at 9300 E Shea Blvd in Scottsdale on Mo 18 Aug, with a memorial service and luncheon afterward conducted by Pastor Pat SULLIVAN at the Scottsdale Bible Church Hayden Chapel and attended by about 80 friends and family members.
Comments at 8-18-2014 memorial svc:
- 'Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus' (Tammi REIMKE on piano and leading singing)
- Pastor Pat SULLIVAN (conducted svc): burial comments re 'facing east' since that's where Jesus will appear ... lots of different emotions at a [memorial] service like this ... prays for clear thinking and comfort as we seek to honor God and Rosena ... to all: there's a day like this waiting for us ...
- 7-min video (prepared by Irene, songs 'When its All Been Said and Done' by Robin Mark, 'Come to Jesus' by Chris Rice, link?)
1 WGR: Rosena was a wonderful example to her sisters since she always seemed to make all the right choices ... as a child learned to play the piano ... accompanied Mother's scene-a-felt presentations ... she and MGK also learned to play the marimba, entertaining many ... she and family cleaned Milton's churches each Saturday ... she and college friends often took over whole church services while home visiting on weekends ... Mother always felt Rosena would marry a pastor, because of her many talents ... but she chose instead a businessman ... mother to 4 rambunctious boys who grew into many-talented Christian men ... church pianist ... ldrshp of many Chr committees ... affected MANY people ... many family visits (fun, welcoming) ... 62-year marriage with caring and sharing husband Jim ... she was a servant-saint who added happiness to all who knew her ... we now rejoice that her smile is once again brightening all around her in heaven.
2 JLS: ... met DWS at Wheaton ... met his parents, a little nervous, but they were both so open and welcoming with warm broad smiles ... remember like it was yesterday ... on Crescent Drive ... this is a family I can love ... Rosena had dreamed of dau-in-laws and gbabies so long she had drawers full of baby clothes, etc. ... special mom ... NEVER criticized anyone, never a cross word from her ... so none of those 'mother-in-law' jokes apply to me ... always enthused to see us, affirming, even calling me 'an angel with skin' (teary pause: 'certainly a nickname I did not deserve, but very endearing') ... many fond memories ... helped organize amid chaos of small kids ... loved order ... perfect script writing ... underlined with a ruler ... the smell of her floral perfume, always very feminine ... she loved family get-togethers, and if she were here today she'd say 'this is the making of memories', a favorite expression ... I'm very grateful for the Godly influence she had on my husband ... being the mil she was, and making my dream of long ago [i.e. 'Mr Right'] come true ... 1 of 2 most important women in my life, very accepting (Dad also), so very thankful to have known her ...
- 'It is Well with My Soul' (solo by Georgia DOLFF)
3 DWS: ... this is a critical event in the life of this family ... thanks for being here ... family meant everything to Rosena ... [mentions family members, 30yr SBC friends] ... I have a confession to make; I've been looking foward to this day for YEARS! ... my mother suffered from Alzheimer's for over 20yrs, a slow, painful, agonizing 'long goodbye' process ... so PTL she's home with the King ... I'll hit 3 key traits; 1 she mastered the art of unconditional love ... never criticized me ... 2 incapable of seeing the bad in someone ... couldn't hold a grudge ... always positive ... annoying that I couldn't share 'dirt' on difficult people and get any sympathy (she'd feel bad for THEM) ... 3 her faith was core to who she was ... when she got discouraged she'd play old hymns on the LR piano ... on Fr 8 Aug 11:30p my mother heard the words we all want to hear; 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant' ... perhaps unusual that ALL family members are committed Christians ...
4 JRS: ... wrote this several months ago ... helped get me through ... recites Apostle's Creed ... 'resurrection of the body and life everlasting' ... getting older is 'accumulating deficits' ... Mom's tore away huge chunks of her personality ... always called her 'my mom' ... always a listening ear and understanding heart ... here's the main point; what happened to her (suffering, death) is NOT natural, NOT the way things are supposed to be ... tho it seems otherwise now (pain, suffering, damage, heartache, tears ...), Satan gets NOTHING in the end ... God gets was He wants, which is restored creation and ALL of His believing children ... resurrection (Jesus', Rosena's and ours) IS the last word ... so as 2 of my fave authors (Eugene Peterson, Wendell Berry) like to say, we should 'practice resurrection' (i.e. bank on it, its a done deal)!
5 SPS: Things I'll never forget about my Mom. I could go on a long time, but I'll keep it short. ['Whew' ... struggling] ... the 1st one is the hardest ... she loved me [I wanted to add; 'no one loves you quite like your Mom, so her loss is a big hit'], I know that, and I'm very thankful about that (she loved many others too). She always looked after me, but I esp. remember how she did when I was sick, that sticks with me i.e. brought me soup, crackers and whatever else I needed. She always laughed alot, but esp. when she was with her sisters and Mom at family get-togethers. She was just that type of person, very positive, full of life. She lost her biological Dad to a plane crash when she was ~6yo, her Mom m. again a few years later, and the girls called that stepdad 'Daddy' for the rest of his life. Its just how things were in the family and he WAS a wonderful, loving father. OK [exhaling] She loved Jesus, who was the core of her life, and was very involved w/LBC, playing piano and many other involvements. She loved people, looked for the best in others, and often received their best (responding to her open attitude toward them). Many people loved her back. One interesting thing about my Mom; unlike me w/my cynical sense of humor (moreso the older I get; not unique, my bros are similar), she was very earnest and had NOT 1 OUNCE of cynicism; she didn't even understand that sense of humor!? Not worldly wise, cynical, or 'knowing'. That's a nice trait, tho I sometimes used to think [still do] how can there be such a person like that in a world like this, but ... somehow she did it. OK, so she was not worldly wise, cynical, 'knowing' but very loving, sweet, close to Jesus, had strong faith, and the last think I wanted to say is that even in her later times, when most of the memories were gone, she still remembered [always had said little prayers all the time e.g. pls help us find a pkg spot, she KNEW Scripture] and would quote little phrases or snippets from Bible verses and/or prayers, so that was still 'burned into' her memory, 'fired off' from decades of study and her prayer life. I found that amazing (tho not surprising for my Mom). Finally, a favorite verse of hers is printed on your pamphlets; Prov 3:4-6 Trust in the Lord w/all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways ack Him and He will direct your paths (it was on most birthday cards I ever received from her and Dad). It was certainly one of her favorite passages and she lived her life according to it.
6 DBS: I'm the baby ... as the others have said, my Mom was a very compassionate person ... of course I'm biased, she's my mom, but its difficult not to like a person like her ... Jesus was at the center of her life, but she also loved and cared about people ... she loved us without condition ... she worked hard, was very patient ... that goes a long way ... Dad and Mom complemented each other very well ... my last comment is that she had a very strong constitution ... I'm a nurse, and she hung on MANY months longer than I thot she would. So thank you for coming and we're grateful you're here, everybody.
[DWS's followup comment, Rosena's legacy ... ALL kids and gkids devout Christians ... and of course Dad was part of that too]
7 Pastor Pat: Well, what do we know ... Jim and Rosena, you done good ... I've done ~300 funeral svcs, but only known ~30 personally ... this is one of those latter ... I can tell you one thing you guys missed ... Rosena was a real lady to the core ... 1 of only 2 real feminine women I've known (other is my wife Sharon's gma Opal; my own step-gma, by contrast, was a 'tugboat Annie' (could swear like a sailor)! ... Rosena and Opal let me know there are real ladies who live on this planet, so I'm grateful for that ... we know she loved Jesus and the family ... and her death was precious to God (Ps 116:15) ... to us, it hurts, we don't like it, don't look forward to it ... 'death' means separation ... we laid her 'tent' [2 Cor 5] to rest this morning, but she's separated from it and us ... its like a cargo ship on the horizon that has left our dock ... but will ARRIVE at another ... able to keep holding that cargo even if WE can't see it ... recounts story of Lazarus ... Jesus said 'I will come again so you can be with me' ... so 11:30p Fr 8 Aug 2014 He came to get Rosena ... Paul said 'in this house we groan' which we ALL understand ... as we age our bodies 'talk' to us in ways they didn't before ...
- 'Great is Thy Faithfulness' Georgia DOLFF
- Pat's closing prayer.
Rick K: Rosena is now more alive than ever but just with a new address!
DWS (a later comment, true for me too): This is the 1st time in my life I've lost someone I really loved.
Rosena lived 4,378 weeks and 4 days, or nearly 1,007 months. She was 32 days shy of her 84th birthday when she died.
- to Kraft's (or Bowman's) in Lansing many years for Christmas in 1960s
- to Kraft's (and Yost's) in CA most years in the summers of the 1970s
- to Richard's in WI most Thanksgivings of 1970s
- 1976 Trail West condos, Buena Vista, CO
- 1992 Winter Park, CO
- 1995 Riudoso, NM
- 1996 Door County, WI
- 1999 Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2001 Estes Park, CO
- 2004 Estes Park, CO
- 2007 Estes Park, CO (Rosena's last)
- 2010 Pagosa Springs, CO
- 2012 Branson, MO
- 2014 Steamboat Springs, CO
- 2016 Flagstaff, AZ
9 months old (6/31), taken in the yard in her sun-suit
Rosena at 1yo?
The family in 1934 at Altoona, PA
Marguerite and her children in Lansing Dec 1937,
not long before little Willard died 1/19/38
The 3 girls in Sep 1939
... add Mom and baby #5 in Sep 1939
Rosena at HS graduation Jun? 1948 (Nappanee, IN)
Wheaton graduation, Mo 16 Jun 1952 (m. next day)
Wedding day Tu 17 Jun 1952
Rosena with baby #1? (Norfolk or GH?)
August 1963
120 Crescent Dr, GH, our home from Jan 1965 to 1984 19yrs (this pic taken much later c2008 by DBS)
Oct 1966
The SAWYER family in 1972
Jun 1973 LBC Bahamas trip
c1977?
SAWYERs and WADDELLs c1990 in AZ?
May 1997 at DWS's GH home
College friends ERICKSONs, VANDERVORTs and SAWYERs on one of
their annual get-togethers, this time to Catalina Island c1998
HARTs, MINNEMAs and SAWYERs in AZ c2000 (Rosena's all gray now)
Rosena Adele GEARHART was born in NYC, and m. her college sweetheart Jim SAWYER the day after they both graduated from Wheaton College in [6/16] 1952. [Soon after, Jim was drafted, joined the Navy, and was sent to NM, as was bro Bob]. After teaching school in Albuquerque, NM, Rosena moved with Jim to Grand Haven, MI, in 1955 [actually it was Th 8/3/54, Jim's 1st day as a civilian, that they packed up the car/trlr and left VA to drive W to Grand Haven w/baby Jimmy for a new adventure; when Jim had been sent from NM to VA, Rosena and baby went 'home' to live w/her parents Milton/MargB in Nappanee?, IN] where they spent the next 50 years [more like 46yrs to 1996, bot 1st AZ place on Chaparral 1980 for winter visits, but blt Aire Libre home 1996 as main residence, w/summer visits to GH, moved into CR 12/3/99], Jim as [eventually, he started as 'office manager'] President of Screw Machine Specialties, Inc. [orig owned by Frank/Abe KIEFT, later incorp'd, majority stake bot by Jim S / Ken Van BEUKERING] (ret. 1978) and Rosena as loving mother and wife. Rosena was a true servant, devoted to her family, her many friends and above all to Jesus Christ her Lord and Savior. She served on the leadership team with the Christian Women's Club and on the local board of [Christian] Ministries, led community Bible studies, and served as church pianist and Lakeshore Baptist Church [also sang in choir, smaller groups, even duets w/Jim]. She is lovingly remembered and survived by her husband Jim and 4 sons ... 7 grandchildren and 3 sisters and spouses also survive Rosena.A favorite Bible passage of hers was Proverbs 3:4-5 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths'.
