1924
Rosemary
2014
Rosemary West
April 1, 1924 — July 30, 2014
Rosemary C. West, 90, of Austin, Texas passed away on July 30, 2014.
She was born April 1, 1924 to Wesley Downing and Christine {Scalise) Smith in Akron, Ohio. Rosemary graduated from Garfield High School in 1942, a few months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Like most people at that time, Rosemary wanted to "do her part for the war effort." She went to work at Goodyear Aircraft in Akron, building and inspecting Corsair fighter planes. On her 20th birthday, Rosemary enlisted in the WAC's (Women's Air Corp) and she was stationed in Long Beach, CA. She was a Link Trainer Instructor and she taught pilots how to fly by instruments when they couldn't see the ground using a simulator. After the war Rosemary attended Kent State Univ. for a year and she went to work as a flight attendant for TWA and United Airlines. Rosemary was always teased that she could fly a plane at 20, but she didn't learn to drive a car until she was 45 years old!
Rosemary had many admirers, but her high school sweetheart, Gaylord West, wrote stacks of love letters during and after the war and never stopped loving her. He impulsively dropped out of medical school and proposed to Rosemary when she was on a layover in Cleveland. Gay's father St. Clair West needed help running his grocery store on Astor Ave., Akron and he talked his son into opening his own store also. Two weeks later, they were married and pooled their GI loans to purchase, what later became, WEST'S CARDINAL MARKET in Wadsworth, OH. It wasn't long before Gaylord was running three mom & pop grocery stores in and around Akron. They lived above the 80 yr. old grocery store in Wadsworth for the first 5 yrs. of their marriage, until they could afford to build their "forever house." They built a bigger store in the 70's across the street from the old store, still in the South End of Wads., where there were no other grocery stores. They ran their grocery store in Wadsworth for 60 yrs, long after mega-supermarkets had run most independent local grocers out of business.
In Rosemary's free time, she coordinated the volunteers for the local American Red Cross Blood Bank for over 50 yrs. She also volunteered as a "grey lady" at the Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital for over 50 yrs., usually with her dear friend Peggy Bates. Come rain or snow, they would welcome hospital visitors and deliver flowers and cards to the sick patients. She was honored to receive a Founder's Award by the hospital in 2004 for all her decades of volunteer service.
Rosemary & Gay had 4 children: Max West (deceased), Lyn (West) Strand (deceased), Larry West (Cerritos, CA), Kathi West (Austin, TX). They had two grandchildren, by Lyn & Tom Strand: Meghan (Strand) Roussel (Austin, TX) and Micah Strand (Westminster, CO).
Rosemary enjoyed raising her four children and she also loved all her children's friends. She was the surrogate mother for all who knew her and she was very young at heart. After her loving husband Gaylord, passed away in 2003, Rosemary kept her beloved home in Wadsworth, but she actually lived with her kids in TX, CO and CA. For 6 yrs. Rosemary got back to OH every summer to visit friends & relatives and to check on her house. Rosemary loved dogs, babies, gardens, music, movies and playing bridge. She loved being "one of the girls," and she loved to laugh. Eventually, Austin became Rosemary's home base and even as Rosemary began showing signs of vascular dementia, she stayed surprising cheerful and sweet.
Rosemary's siblings all preceded her, including her sisters: Kathy (Smith) Martin (Stow), Lillian (Smith) Wagoner (FL), Alice (Smith) Woodson (CA); and brothers: Albert Smith (Akron), Wesley Smith (Akron), Jackie Smith (Akron).
There will be a private family graveside service for Rosemary at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, 9560 Acme Road, Seville, OH 44273 on Saturday, September 20, 2014. And there will be a casual reception to celebrate Rosemary's life, Saturday, September 20th, at the Galaxy Restaurant, (Moon Glow room), 201 Park Center Dr., Wadsworth, OH, 44281, from 2-4 pm.
She was born April 1, 1924 to Wesley Downing and Christine {Scalise) Smith in Akron, Ohio. Rosemary graduated from Garfield High School in 1942, a few months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Like most people at that time, Rosemary wanted to "do her part for the war effort." She went to work at Goodyear Aircraft in Akron, building and inspecting Corsair fighter planes. On her 20th birthday, Rosemary enlisted in the WAC's (Women's Air Corp) and she was stationed in Long Beach, CA. She was a Link Trainer Instructor and she taught pilots how to fly by instruments when they couldn't see the ground using a simulator. After the war Rosemary attended Kent State Univ. for a year and she went to work as a flight attendant for TWA and United Airlines. Rosemary was always teased that she could fly a plane at 20, but she didn't learn to drive a car until she was 45 years old!
Rosemary had many admirers, but her high school sweetheart, Gaylord West, wrote stacks of love letters during and after the war and never stopped loving her. He impulsively dropped out of medical school and proposed to Rosemary when she was on a layover in Cleveland. Gay's father St. Clair West needed help running his grocery store on Astor Ave., Akron and he talked his son into opening his own store also. Two weeks later, they were married and pooled their GI loans to purchase, what later became, WEST'S CARDINAL MARKET in Wadsworth, OH. It wasn't long before Gaylord was running three mom & pop grocery stores in and around Akron. They lived above the 80 yr. old grocery store in Wadsworth for the first 5 yrs. of their marriage, until they could afford to build their "forever house." They built a bigger store in the 70's across the street from the old store, still in the South End of Wads., where there were no other grocery stores. They ran their grocery store in Wadsworth for 60 yrs, long after mega-supermarkets had run most independent local grocers out of business.
In Rosemary's free time, she coordinated the volunteers for the local American Red Cross Blood Bank for over 50 yrs. She also volunteered as a "grey lady" at the Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital for over 50 yrs., usually with her dear friend Peggy Bates. Come rain or snow, they would welcome hospital visitors and deliver flowers and cards to the sick patients. She was honored to receive a Founder's Award by the hospital in 2004 for all her decades of volunteer service.
Rosemary & Gay had 4 children: Max West (deceased), Lyn (West) Strand (deceased), Larry West (Cerritos, CA), Kathi West (Austin, TX). They had two grandchildren, by Lyn & Tom Strand: Meghan (Strand) Roussel (Austin, TX) and Micah Strand (Westminster, CO).
Rosemary enjoyed raising her four children and she also loved all her children's friends. She was the surrogate mother for all who knew her and she was very young at heart. After her loving husband Gaylord, passed away in 2003, Rosemary kept her beloved home in Wadsworth, but she actually lived with her kids in TX, CO and CA. For 6 yrs. Rosemary got back to OH every summer to visit friends & relatives and to check on her house. Rosemary loved dogs, babies, gardens, music, movies and playing bridge. She loved being "one of the girls," and she loved to laugh. Eventually, Austin became Rosemary's home base and even as Rosemary began showing signs of vascular dementia, she stayed surprising cheerful and sweet.
Rosemary's siblings all preceded her, including her sisters: Kathy (Smith) Martin (Stow), Lillian (Smith) Wagoner (FL), Alice (Smith) Woodson (CA); and brothers: Albert Smith (Akron), Wesley Smith (Akron), Jackie Smith (Akron).
There will be a private family graveside service for Rosemary at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, 9560 Acme Road, Seville, OH 44273 on Saturday, September 20, 2014. And there will be a casual reception to celebrate Rosemary's life, Saturday, September 20th, at the Galaxy Restaurant, (Moon Glow room), 201 Park Center Dr., Wadsworth, OH, 44281, from 2-4 pm.
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