Rose Eileen Whalen

Rose Eileen (Callahan) Whalen of Columbus. Born March 24, 1921, retired undefeated on Feb. 22, 2013 from a remarkable nine-decade career as a devoted daughter, outstanding student, proud WW II veteran, loving wife, tireless and ever-supportive mother of nine, dedicated public servant and private volunteer, steadfast friend, and unwavering adherent of her Catholic faith and Democratic political convictions.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Daniel E. Whalen, who died in 1995, parents Steven V. and Nelle (Dugan) Callahan, sister Kathleen Callahan McPartland, grandson Kieran (Kacy) Whalen, and sons-in-law Cornell Wiley and Lou Danford. Remaining to treasure her memory are her children: Colleen Terwilliger, Dennis (Suzie) Whalen, Maureen Whalen, Kate Whalen, Shelley Whalen and Bridget Danford, all of Columbus; Sharon Whalen and Patricia Whalen of Sarasota FL, and Karen Whalen (Steve Vinke) of New Carlisle. Also surviving are grandson John Whalen of Columbus and granddaughter Sarah Lyons (D'Arcy Vout) of Ottawa Ontario, Canada. A Columbus native, Rose grew up on W. Blake Avenue and entered the first grade at Holy Name School in1926, where she immediately formed lifelong friendships with Mary Ann Enke and Ann Blackman, who together with high school chum Helen Davies became a foursome that continued to get together regularly to share life's joys and sorrows (and the occasional highball) well into their eighties. A "straight A" student throughout her school days, Rose graduated from North High School in 1938 as class salutatorian. Unable to afford college during the depths of the Depression, she took a job at Smith Brothers Hardware. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she and best friend Betty Pallis enlisted as U.S. Navy WAVEs. During her three-year term of service, Rose advanced to the rank of warrant officer and served as office manager at the Main Navy Receiving Station in Washington DC. It was there that she met her future husband, who was mysteriously assigned to a ship (the USS Leon) that was still being built in New York City. Following a long-distance romance that included several weekends listening to the cream of the Big Bands in the Big Apple, Rose and Dan were married in January 1944. Upon his return from the Pacific Theatre inlate 1945, they started a family in California but returned to Columbus in 1948. They purchased a home in the Linden area and became active members of St. Augustine parish for the next 18 years, during which Rose somehow found time amidst her non-stop parental chores to serve as a Cub Scout and Campfire Girl leader and PTA officer. After the family moved to the Walnut Ridge area in1966, Rose returned to the workplace asbookkeeper for the Columbus Health Department's visiting nurse program, where she spent the next 14 years not-always-gently reminding the nursing staff that timely and accurate paperwork was a necessary component of their humanitarian mission. Following their joint retirement in 1982, Rose and Dan moved to the Northland II senior apartment complex on Karl Road and spent the winter months soaking up the Gulf Coast sun at Bradenton Beach. In retirement, among other community service undertakings, Rose was a faithful volunteer manning the gift shop and family waiting area at the Mt. Carmel Town Street surgical unit. Active and ferociously independent until the final months of her life at The Village at Westerville, Rose was a walking advertisement for her deeply held values of self-actualization, self-sacrifice, and a healthy skepticism about the omniscience of the great and powerful. Her family and friends will forever miss her boundless energy, and her enduring faith that people can overcome life's inevitable hardships and heartbreaks by embracing their God-given gifts and seizing each day as a new opportunity to make a differencefor the good. The family will receive friends Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the SCHOEDINGER NORTH CHAPEL, 5554 Karl Road. Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Matthias Church, 1582 Ferris Road. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, 6440 S. High Street. Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Hospice. Online condolences may be made to www.schoedinger.com