My sweet Grandma, Marlene Allen Rosen passed away on Saturday September 26, 2015. It was a bittersweet day for those of us who love her. She had been sick for so long and we are grateful she is at peace. I love my Grandma and will miss her every day until I can be with her again. My sister Christina took this beautiful picture of Grandma which captures her personality perfectly. It was taken around 2008. She loved to sit in this chair right by her front window. I love how her hand is up by her face. I am so grateful for this picture my sister took. It brings me comfort.
Grandma was born July 8, 1932, in Nampa, Idaho. She was the first child of Clyde Lowell and Beulah Ravenscraft Allen. She was the oldest of five children. She grew up on several small farms around Vale, Oregon. She learned the value of working hard at a young age. She carried that great work ethic with her for the rest of her life.
Grandma was very close to her sister Vella. They were different when it came to personality but they loved each other and did everything together. A story from my Grandma's life history was about them when they were younger. Their Grandma promised each of them a new dress if they could part with some of their bad habits. Vella picked her nose and Grandma sucked her thumb. Vella got her dress right away. Grandma said it was sometime before she got her dress.
Education was always important to Grandma from a young age. She studied hard and graduated at the top of her class from Vale High School. She was not given a scholarship because it was uncommon for a women to go on to college. Grandma had made it a goal to go to college and she made it happen. She worked in Boise, Idaho to save up money so she could attend BYU in the Fall. She was the first women from her town to attend college.
She enjoyed her college years and continued to do well in school. She met my Grandpa, Harold Earl Rosen at BYU.
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 5, 1953. It was the start of a strong marriage that would last for 62 years. The wedding dress that Grandma is wearing she actually made for her sister Vella when she got married. Grandma made some alterations and also wore it on her wedding day.
One of Grandma's greatest roles was that of Mother. She has five children; Hal, David, Mark, Sylvia, and Phillip. She loved her children and brought them up in the gospel. I will always be grateful that she raised such a kind and faithful women to be my Mother.
Grandma taught her children what it meant to be a Rosen. She taught them to work hard, be honest, faithful, and kind. My Mother taught those same values to my siblings and I.
Grandma was a gifted seamstress and loved to sew. She was taught to sew by her Grandmother Sylvia in her growing up years. She later received a job teaching Clothing and Textiles at BYU. She taught there for over 21 years. I know she enjoyed teaching and had a positive impact on her students. She had great taste and an eye for color. She was a perfectionist when it came to sewing. If a seam didn't look right she would rip it out and start again. While she was teaching she also helped design a pattern book that was published. She also enjoyed being a part of the BYU Women organization. She was a little overwhelmed when they called her as President. But like everything else, she put her whole heart into it and was successful.
Grandma was always a loving and devoted Grandmother to me. I am her oldest granddaughter. This picture was taken in 1982. Grandma had flown out to visit us in Texas after my brother Greg was born. I love how she has her arms wrapped around me. I have this picture on my nightstand by my bed. It brings me comfort to look at it. When someone you love passes away every picture you have of them becomes a treasure.
I love this picture because it has four generations of Rosen women. It was taken in 1984 on a visit to my Great Grandma Beulah's farm. It is sad for me to realize that I am the only one living out of my maternal family line. I have great motivation to live my life after the pattern that these exemplary women have set for me.
The one thing that I will always remember about Grandma is her strong testimony. She lived it and shared it with everyone she met. Grandma and Grandpa served four missions together. The first was to Madrid Spain. This picture was taken when they returned from that mission. The next was to the Central American area of Guatemala, then to Guatemala city at the area office, and then to the Santiago, Chile temple mission. Grandma had a Christlike love for those she served. She impacted many by her kindness.
Grandma started may fun family traditions that we will always remember. Paella dinners with all the family, playing croquette in the backyard, hiking Y mountain, watching fireworks, having homemade ice cream, and acting out the nativity at Christmas.
I came across this picture of my Grandma the other day. I love it of her! She has the newspaper in front of her, a big smile on her face, and is talking to someone with her hands.
All were welcome and loved at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Many of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren have lived there over the years. In the Summer of 1991, my mom and us four children moved in with my Grandparents. We lived there with them for the next six years. This picture was taken on Christmas 1991. We had given Grandma the book called, "The napping house." It became one of Grandma's favorite and she enjoyed reading it to all her grandkids.
Grandma was always cooking up something good for us to eat. I will always remember her delicious home canned peaches with cottage cheese. She was always baking bread and gave us a glass of milk to go with it. These have become comfort foods for me. In this picture we were celebrating my 12th birthday with a family dinner.
Rosen family parties were always a highlight. This was a farewell party before Grandma and Grandpa left on their mission to Central America. The cousins were having fun jumping on the tramp while Grandma watched. She had a happy look on her face and their shoes in her hands.
My Grandma came back early from her mission in the Summer of 1995 when my Mom was diagnosed with Cancer. She lovingly took care of my Mother during her treatments, took care of us four kids, and the house. I don't know how she did it all. This picture was taken in September of 1996 and was just a month before my Mom passed away.
Grandma and Grandpa both enjoyed serving together at the Provo temple. It was nice that they lived so close to the temple and could walk there. Grandma was my escort when I went to the temple for the first time. She taught me so much by her quiet, kind example. I think of her every time I attend the temple.
Grandma and Grandpa wanted us to live in their house while they served a mission to Santiago, Chile. I was worried about keeping the house immaculate like Grandma kept it. She assured me that I could. It ended up being a huge blessing to us. It couldn't have been better timing. We had been living paycheck to paycheck in our shoebox of an apartment. We were also expecting our first baby at the time. Mckenna was born while we lived in my Grandparents house. She is the first great granddaughter born into the Rosen family. She was almost eighteen months old when they got back from their mission. They loved getting to know Mckenna when they came home. We continued to live with them another couple years. I also had Parker while were living there. My Grandparents always have had a special bond with my oldest two children since we lived there with them.
Grandma found great joy in being outdoors. She loved to work in her yard. Sometimes, she and Grandpa would work sun up until sun down. The hard work paid off and their yard always looked beautiful.
The roses expertly pruned, the ivy neatly trimmed, and the lawn freshly mowed. It wasn't uncommon to find Grandma weeding the flower beds, while wearing a turtleneck, in July! I remember once Grandma was out working in the yard when it started to get dark. I asked Grandpa if I should turn the outside light on for her. He told me to leave it off so she would realize it was dark and come in.
Grandma always felt at peace when she was up in the mountains. She was grateful to have a home tucked up by the mouth of Rock Canyon. She also had a great view of her favorite mountain, Mount Timpanogos, from her backyard. She used to hike up Rock Canyon almost daily, with her ski pole she used for a walking stick.
Every year, on October 24th we went up to the cemetery to my Mom's grave. This was the fall of 2006 and was the tenth anniversary of my Mom's passing. Grandma brought beautiful arrangements of fall flowers, leaves, and berries. I always looked forward to hearing stories about my Mom when she was growing up. We would also look through the photo albums together.
Grandma was always supportive of me and my children. She came to watch Mckenna's first dance performance in May of 2008. We went to get some ice cream afterwards. Grandma had a sweet tooth and loved ice cream. When we lived with her she always wanted some ice cream after dinner. She also would say, I will have "just a taste". Which turned into her eating the whole thing!
Grandma and my kids on Mother's day 2010. I love Grandma's outfit that she is wearing. She always had good taste in clothes. She loved seeing my kids all matching in their Easter clothes.
Grandma started the tradition of taking her daughters in law, my Mom, and Tatiana to the Christmas luncheon at BYU Women. I was glad to join them in this tradition when I was older. I looked forward to it every year.
Grandma was a loving Great Grandmother to my children. I am so glad they had the chance to get to know her. She was so happy to hold Addy on her blessing day. This was taken in January of 2012.
On July 8, 2012 we celebrated Grandma's 80th birthday. It was nice to have a reunion with most of the Rosen family. We had a dinner and then shared some of our favorite memories with Grandma.
It has been hard to see my Grandma struggle with Dementia these last few years. It has been so sweet to see the sacrifices Grandpa has made to take care of her. It was hard when Grandpa had to make the decision to move Grandma to a Care Center. Grandma's love for Grandpa only grew with their separation. When he came to visit, her whole face would light up and she would say, "there is my beloved husband!"
My Grandma has taken care of me my whole life. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to take care of her those last couple of years. I tried to visit her weekly. Those visits have changed my life. My love and admiration for my Grandma only grew. One night stands out in my mind. I helped her get ready for bed, tucked her in, and kissed her goodnight. When I turned to leave I had the sweetest feeling come over me. It was one of the many sacred experiences that I was blessed with.
I am so glad that my children had the opportunity to serve there Great Grandma. Her first Christmas in the care center the girls and I went to decorate her room.
We had cut out fifty paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling. We turned her room into a Winter Wonderland. She was so happy and wanted to save every snowflake for the next year.
I took Addy with me a lot to visit Grandma. She could always cheer Grandma up. Grandma always commented on Addy's brown eyes and curly hair. She also loved the flowers I would bring her from my garden.
There were hard days and some really good days. This was one of the good days. I loved to see my Grandma smile and hear her laugh! One of the greatest blessings has been that Grandma always recognized me and was glad I came to see her. She would even call me by name most of the time. It brought me such joy every time I heard her say my name. I know it was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father.
The beginning of September Grandma's health began to decline. I took Mckenna with me one Sunday night to visit her. She lovingly painted her Great Grandma's fingernails. It was always important to Grandma that she looked nice. I would brush her hair and put her lipstick on when I came to visit.
I treasure this picture because it is one of the last beautiful memories I have of my Grandma. When I got to the care center she was sitting at one of the tables and was happy to see me. She told me she wanted to go outside. I got her ready and pushed her out front in her wheel chair. It was a gorgeous morning, with the rain we received the night before. I pointed out the mountains and also the Y. Grandma told me she wanted to feel the sunshine on her face. At one point she wanted to get up and walk. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea but I couldn't tell her no. I held both of her hands and let her take a few small steps. Then she sat down on the bench. Grandpa pulled up not long after that in his car. I think he was surprised to see us outside. Just a couple days before Grandma hadn't been able to get out of bed. I took this picture of the two of them sitting there together. One thing that never changed throughout Grandma's illness was her obedient and willing heart. She always wanted to do what the Lord would have her do. In the last few weeks I even heard her pray aloud. She knew she could turn to her Heavenly Father in prayer.
Grandma's funeral was on Monday October 5, 2015. It was a beautiful Fall day. I put together this table display for the funeral. One of my Grandma's last callings was doing the RS table display for Sunday. She always put a lot of thought and love into it. I thought it was fitting that the display was in the RS room.
The flowers were perfect. We displayed the big picture of Grandma that Teenie took. Grandma would be so happy with how everything turned out.
My cousins Kami, Aimee, and my Aunt Diane. It was so nice to be together as a family and remember the life of Grandma. I felt a great outpouring of love from all the neighbors and friends that came by. They had so many nice things to share about Grandma.
I was able to help dress my Grandma for burial. It was my Aunts, my cousin Aimee and I. It brought great peace to my heart to see Grandma looking so beautiful. The wrinkles were gone from her face and her ankles were no longer swollen. She looked like she did before the illness. I had the honor of speaking at her funeral. I gave the life sketch. My Grandpa told me that I would also be representing my Mother. My cousins performed a moving instrumental version of How Great Thou Art.
My Aunt Phyllis with my Great Aunt Vella at the cemetery. Aunt Vella is my Grandma's sister. It was so comforting to have her there with us. She reminds me so much of Grandma.
My Grandma was buried right next to my Mother. I am glad that I will have a place to come visit them both now.
My brother's Greg and Mike were both pallbearers. It was sweet to see Mike with his arm around Greg.
My Grandpa with his four sons.
Addy and I giving my Grandpa a big hug after the graveside service.
We took a picture with the Great Grandkids that were there that day.
I am so glad Mike and Teenie were able to fly home for the funeral. We loved having them with us.
It has been a week since my Grandma's funeral. My heart if still full of love for her and the beautiful life she lived. She taught me so much through her Christlike example. I know that she had become all the Lord wanted her to become in this life. It brings me comfort to know that she is at peace. I believe that my Mom was there to meet her when she passed. It also brings me comfort to know they are both now watching over me and my children. I am so happy for Grandma. I feel that she must be hiking the mountains of heaven, smiling, and glad to have the sunshine on her face again.
