Smart, Generous and Stubborn (in the best way)
by Diane Hoemeke
Rose was the second of nine (surviving) Magelli children and the oldest daughter. She was born in Mark, IL on March 20,1917. That was also Grandpa’ Magelli’s birthday. He wanted to name her Matilda, after his late mother. But Grandma preferred the name Rose, in honor of his Aunt Rosa who raised him after his mom died.
Rose was smart, generous and “Italian stubborn.”
She was a businesswoman who for nearly 35 years. She managed six lady’s apparel stores in central Illinois, all owned by the Sherman family. She sold merchandise, did the accounting, bought clothing and accessories for the chain, managed every store’s inventory and even decorated the storefronts’ display windows.
She did it all. With an eighth-grade education. In addition, she broke social norms when she became a single mom.
She was thoughtful and generous. When a family member needed financial assistance, she always seemed to have a little nest egg–despite her fixed income. She volunteered at her church’s chili suppers, quilt raffles and bake sales. And she always provided transportation for “little old ladies” who needed help getting to their doctors’ appointments.
From her modest-sized kitchen flowed cookies and peanut brittle, which she mailed in decorated coffee cans to her nieces and nephews spread across central Illinois. Like a mother hen, she never shied away from proffering tough love and sound advice. Solicited and otherwise.
In her life she experienced many bumps in the road. As a result, she became fiercely independent and direct. In any large family, let alone an Italian one, there are often a variety of points of view. She never hesitated to express her own.
Rose believed in hard work and education. She helped raise younger siblings, served as a nanny, cleaned houses, worked in a bakery, thrived in the retail business and volunteered until she was in her late 80s.
She read, kept abreast of current events, traveled both domestically and internationally, and shared her thoughtful opinions She planned for me to go to college and encouraged her grandchildren to do the same.
I think we can all agree she was a beloved tour de force—even if you didn’t always agree with her.
