A Sad, Sad Day

On Friday while at work, I noticed I had missed a call from someone who does not generally call me at work. I had opened my phone for some other reason when I noticed it. I called the number.


And I found out something that saddened my heart greatly.


Rosie died that morning. She was at home, as I understand it just sitting at her table and fell over into the floor and stopped breathing. Her roommate administered CPR and called 911. Neither she nor they could revive Rosie.

Rosemary Holcombe


Died April 15, 2011




Rosemary Holcombe, 46, of Huntsville passed away Friday at her residence.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Brindlee Mountain Chapel, Morgan City. Cremation will follow the service.
Visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. until the beginning of services.

Published in The Huntsville Times on April 17, 2011

She left behind two lovely daughters and two very sweet grandchildren. She had called her daughter just a few days before and told her she was wrapping a gift for the youngest one-- who, if I remember correctly, she had never even seen yet. His birthday was on the 16th. I suppose that forever when his birthday comes around, his mother will remember that her mother died at that time.


Rosie lived with us from some time in January when she was in the 9th grade until she was a senior in high school.  (Her mother had gone into the hospital for surgery and decided while there to not go back to her husband.  The landlord where she was living would not let her return to the house she lived in, as I understand the situation.  She moved in with her sister and Rosie came to live with us until her mother could move into a home of her own.)

During most of the time she was with us, Rosie endeavored to live for God.  She was a very good-hearted girl.  She did not like conflict.  I think part of her reason to choose to "backslide" revolved around taking the non-confrontational way out of a relationship she had begun with someone (who lived in Oklahoma I believe).  She  wouldn't have to tell him she didn't want to continue the relationship because her giving up spiritually would mean he would end it himself.  She had moved back in with her mother because she wanted to spend more time with her mother before she made other significant changes in her life which had become part of their plans.   


Her whole life was a series of emotional upheavals.  I loved her much and did all I could to help her in every way.  Even now I think about how limited I am to help people through their personal crises.  The most I can do is to try to point them to the One Who can help, but if they choose to go another way, there's just not a whole lot I can do to prevent that.  The older I get, the more I realize that it really doesn't matter how much you love someone, they still make their own choices.  


It has been years since I've seen Rosie.  I have been updated  on her whereabouts from time to time but I really didn't even  realize she'd moved back to Huntsville from Florida, where she lived for quite sometime.


Thinking all this makes me realize how quickly time flies.   I couldn't believe her daughter was twenty five and had two children of her own!!  


Rosie's mother has really been very supportive of her in any legitimate way that she could be down through the intervening years and it brought her much grief for things to end as they did on Friday. 


 And it did me too.