Rosemary Mahfood Primeaux entered the world on October 14, 1950, and left it on September 22, 2019. She was 68 years old. 

Rosemary's joys in life were abundantly and immediately clear to all who met her (however briefly): 

(1) She was unbelievably proud of her two children. She openly bragged about her son Milo ("the lawyer"), his husband Beau, and their sheep farm in Upstate New York to anyone who would listen. Her other son Joshua always remained her heartsong long after he passed in 1995, and they are now undoubtedly catching up on all the time they lost.

(2) Rosemary was fiercely independent and loved to travel on her own to visit friends and beautiful places. She and Milo spent many summers driving from state to state, and she continued her solo adventures as a travel nurse for another decade. Even in her retirement, she drove far and wide to collect stamps from dozens of national historical sites all over the country, visit her son’s farm, spend time with her brother Michael and sister Michele in Texas, see her beloved niece Meghann and her family in Virginia Beach, and catch up with her extended family in Detroit.
 

(3) As independent as she was, Rosemary was blessed to have so many friends and family in her life over the years. Her two best friends in the entire world, Father William (“Bill”) Murphy and her cousin Renee Rasak Keogh, shared love, friendship, humor, and joys of imagination over the years. They, along with her wider circle of close friends and family, brought so much light and laughter to her days, and for that she was deeply grateful.

(4) She proudly worked as a registered nurse for over 20 years and also a lactation specialist helping new moms breastfeed with ease. As much as she loved her life’s work, she also relished her retirement in recent years.

 

(5) She was a Scrabble master and would rope anyone she could into playing word games with her in-person and online. She often had over 200 active games going at once!

(6) She loved the magic of Broadway musicals and showtunes, knew many of them by heart, and enjoyed sharing her favorites with new friends and family.

(7) She was a voracious reader and prolific writer. In addition to dozens of popular published short stories, Rosemary kept as many journals brimming with handwritten tales of her life as she did blank journals just waiting to be filled.

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(8) And finally, Rosemary cherished Christmas-time above any other holiday (well, second only to her own birthday, obviously), and amassed an extraordinary collection of beady-eyed snowmen with which to decorate her home every year. She loved giving gifts and sending out cards, often preparing these months in advance in gleeful anticipation.

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According to her wishes, Rosemary’s ashes will be spread in places she loved or longed to see some day. She also explicitly did not want to have a formal memorial service.

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Instead, on Monday, October 14, 2019 (her birthday!), we held a virtual gathering so that all the folks who loved her could join from wherever they were. It was a beautiful gathering, overflowing with sweet and loving memories of her kindness, joy of life, and bigger-than-life personality. She is and will continue to be so deeply missed.

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If you missed it, you can watch a full-length recording of the gathering here (coming soon), or just the video slideshow of photos from her joyful life here.

 

 

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation in her name to your closest Ronald McDonald House – an organization that houses families of children who are being treated for cancer, and that helped our family in our most difficult times when Joshua was sick. You can find your local chapter here.

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The original posting of this obituary can be found here.