Rosalie Meyer

Rosalie Ann Johnson Meyer was a creative force, a nurturing mother, a devoted friend. She enjoyed making art of every kind: watercolor painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, jewelry-making, sewing, fabric collage. She left her indelible Rosalie stamp on everything she touched, in her home and in her church. She also loved to cook, write, sing, play the piano--and she could cut up a rug on the polka dance floor. She inspired many friends, family and students to follow their artistic muses. Rosalie was the mother of six children. It is no exaggeration to say she was the heart and soul of her family, the sun around whom everyone orbited. She was active in the lives of her children, serving as de facto arts and crafts teacher, Campfire Girl leader, she served in the PTA, and she taught vacation Bible school. Faith was a cornerstone for Rosalie and she brought the children to Lutheran Church every Sunday. The family traveled around the United States and have many treasured vacation memories to Hartwick Pines, Yellowstone National Park, Florida and Padre Island, to name a few. She was a good friend and confidante to her children even in their adult years. She saw the value of extended family, ensuring her children visited and created relationships with their cousins, aunts and uncles, great-aunts and third-cousins-twice-removed. She leaves thirteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her profound love for them all is evidenced in proudly displayed pictures all over the house. She collected and recorded family tree information and continually (gently!) educated family members about the people who preceded them. She was instrumental in the support and continuation over the years of the annual Halvorson-Johnson Family Reunion which saw its 77th year in 2008Rosalie, age 3, was in attendance at the very first one! Although she moved often in her adult life, she collected many, many life-long friends from every city where she lived. She regularly corresponded with childhood friends, college roommates, cousins, former neighbors. (Most years, her Christmas cards were ones she made herself: small, precious works of art). She hosted many lively dinner and bridge parties over the decades, and gently encouraged friends to flex their creative muscles together with her in various workshops. She volunteered in many community organizations, connecting, it seems, with nearly everyone in town. Rosalie was born on March 22, 1929, on the verge of the Great Depression, and was joined seven years later by her younger brother Roger. They spent their childhoods just north of Manistee in a small house on 80 acres of beautiful woods and fields where their parents grew vegetables and strawberries, and her father worked for the Michigan State Highway Department. Rosalie was the only student her age in the one-room schoolhouse she attended down the road, but easily kept pace with the older students. When she was just 14 years old, her father tragically died of cancer. Now a small family of three, her mother went to work as a teacher. Rosalie graduated from Manistee High School in 1946 (where she was a member of the rifle squad)! She attended Central Michigan University carrying a double major in English and art, and was a member of Pi Kappa Sigma. It was here that she met the one, Donald Meyer, an education major. They both graduated in 1950 and were married on August 18, 1951a happy marriage which would span 57 years. The newlyweds moved to Tawas City where they both got jobs teaching in different schools. With the birth of their first child, Jean, in 1952, Rosalie fully embraced her new role as mother and temporarily left the work force. The next ten years brought them five more children: Daniel in 1953, Karen in 1956, Sara in 1960, Judith in 1961, and Eric in 1962. Rosalie returned to teaching for a short time while Don earned his doctorate in education, which enabled his career to progress from teacher to superintendent, to college dean. The Meyer family moved where Dons career led them, relocating to suburban Kansas City, Kansas in 1968. Here, Rosalie embraced a culturally enriched urban life, enjoying the art museums (and great shopping centers!) and taking classes at the local community college. In 1975, the Meyer family moved back to Michigan and settled first in Port Huron. Four years later they moved to Muskegon, where Rosalie joined St. Mark Lutheran Church. Shortly after the move, tragedy struck again when their youngest, Eric, was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1982. Far from destroying the family, Rosalies and Dons inner strength and forward-looking philosophy brought the family closer together. Rosalie has left an indelible impression in Muskegon. She was a founding member of Lakeshore Transplant Support Group, and was active for many years in various organizations: PEO Chapter CS, Lutheran Womens Missionary League (LWML), West Michigan Herb Society, Friends of Art, Friends of Hackley Library. Rosalie dealt with a number of health challenges during her long life. As a child, she had rheumatic fever. She was on kidney dialysis for about three years in the mid-eighties before having a successful transplant at the age of 58. She had a brief bout with cancer and won. She accepted all these things with grace and admirable optimism. In early December of 2008, Rosalie suffered a stroke which left her left side paralyzed, unable to really communicate or to eat. Even this, she seemed able to accept with grace and hard work. She slowly, steadily improved over the next three months. Just weeks before her 80th birthday she developed pneumonia and was unable to recover. Whether she was inspiring her students, working on a masterpiece, embracing a grandchild, or laughing with her friends, Rosalie Meyer approached each day with courage, compassion, and grace. To Rosalie, life was about establishing deep and meaningful relationships with those she held most dear. Rosalie lived her life with sparkle and creativity, leaving beauty in her wake, making memories which will be forever etched on the hearts of all those she leaves behind. She will be deeply missed. Rosalie A. Meyer died Monday, March 16, 2009. Rosalies family includes her husband, Donald; son, Dan (Eileen) Meyer of PA; daughters, Jean (Bob) Cross of KS, Karen (Jeff Seckendorf) Meyer of CA; Sara (Dan) Gleason of Niles, Judith (Todd) Galloway of Grand Rapids; 13 grandchildren, Chris Meyer, Elyse Meyer, Andrew Cross, Maggie Gleason, Jonathan Gleason, Rachel Gleason, Alecia Galloway, Amy Galloway, Corrine Galloway, Nikki Cross, Bethany Alexander, Megan Kelly, Joseph Kelly; 3 great grandchildren Dawsyn & Owen Alexande, Kylar Slapar; brother, Roger Johnson of Comstock Park; cousin, Adoree Bystrom of OH. Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 20, 2009, 1:00 p.m. at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church with Rev. Mark Zimmerman officiating. Interment at Trinity Cemetery, Manistee. Visit with Rosalies family and friends on Thursday, 2-4 & 6-8 p.m. at Clock Life Story Funeral Home- Muskegon location - Muskegon, MI. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory, sign the online guest book, or make a memorial contribution to Gift of Life.