Rosalie Mary (Suwarsky) Veniace

It is with much sadness in our hearts as we say good-bye to you, dear Aunt Rosalie, but it is with great joy as we know you go to meet your Lord. Funeral services celebrating her life will be held at 11:00 A.M., Saturday, September 5, 2009, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 179 Lucinda Lane in Watervliet with Father Bill Jacobs officiating. She will be buried next to her husband at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Watervliet. Visitation will be held Friday evening, from 6:00 to 8:00 at the Davidson Chapel of Florin Funeral Service, 249 E. Center Street, in Coloma. The Rosary will be recited at 7:00 at the funeral home. Memorial Masses may be made in her memory. Rose was born the daughter of John and Josefa Suwarsky in Owendale, Michigan, on April 10, 1912. Rose was of German-Polish decent you know. She loved her heritage and her family. Rose had stories to tell and many memories of life on the farm on Boyer Road in Coloma where she was raised. She was the eldest of 9 children. Rose aspired to be a teacher, but when the Depression came in 1928, she could no longer attend school and left to find work to help out the family. She found work in the Five and Ten Store and the Vincent Coffee Café in downtown Benton Harbor. It was at the St. Vincent Hotel that she met the famous gangster, Al Capone. She often said that he was a good tipper! During this time, Rose met Frank Veniace and they eventually married and moved to Battle Creek, Michigan. They were married fifty-five years! They attended St. Phillips Catholic Church where Rose worked tirelessly for the WSO (Woman’s Society Organization) under the wonderful leadership of Sister Robertine Treppa. Rosalie’s real work career began after moving to Battle Creek where she started working for the Kellogg Company. She worked in the Controlled Department and as an assistant to one of the Chemists for 32 years. Rose had no children of her own, but she was mother to many and loved by all. She was always there when she was needed. She was a great caregiver was such fun to be with. A great letter writer, one could almost see the flowers in bloom and feel the sunshine in the words she wrote. Her motto: “Always have a laugh, once a day, good for your health and your soul. It will keep you happy and sane.” After retirement, Rose and her husband Frank moved back to Fairplain in St. Joseph Township. They shared a home with her sister, Pauline Hansen. Rose leaves behind a sister, Frances Bisnett of Dowagiac, Michigan and a host of loving nieces and nephews who will always have fond memories of her, especially when the families would travel to Battle Creek for Easter dinners. Her home movies will never be forgotten. You could see them forward or backwards as “Aunt Rose” would run them both ways. Rose is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Frank; sisters, Pauline Hansen, Stella Suwarsky, Helen Kroschel; and by her brothers, Stanley, Joseph, Walter, and Leo Suwarsky. Blessings to you Aunt Rose, we know you deserve them and we will all miss you very much. All of our lives are richer because of you. Now go and take the Hand of God!

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Rosalie Mary (Suwarsky) Veniace

April 10, 1912 - September 1, 2009