Rosemary McAndrews Enyart

Rosemary McAndrews Enyart, who lived a life that spanned continents and decades as the devoted wife of a diplomat and naval officer, loving matriarch of a large family, and cherished friend to many across the world, died on Friday at Palm Garden of West Palm Beach, Florida. She was 98.

Born Rosemary Elizabeth McAndrews on June 15, 1927, in Scranton, PA, she came of age during World War II and graduated magna cum laude from Rosemont College in 1947 with a history degree. Two years later, she married naval aviator Lt. John W. Enyart in Norfolk, VA, beginning a partnership that would take them around the world and last nearly seven decades until his death in December 2016.

As the wife of a naval officer and diplomat, Mrs. Enyart embraced the nomadic life that came with her husband's career, establishing homes and communities from Norfolk, VA, to Lisbon, Portugal, from Oahu, HI, to Grandfather Mountain, NC, and finally to Palm Beach, FL. Throughout these moves, she demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt to new cultures while maintaining the warmth and grace that endeared her to friends and neighbors wherever she lived.

Rosemary’s (Nana) greatest pride was her family, which grew to include three children: Mary Ferol (Richard) DiFilippo of West Palm Beach, FL; John W. (Sarah Goebel) Enyart Jr. of Malvern, PA; and Christopher B. (Denise) Enyart of Silver Spring, MD; Nana delighted in her role as grandmother to seven grandchildren and their families: Gillian (Britton) Williston of Virginia Beach, VA; Caitlin (Steve) Obringer of Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Patrick DiFilippo (d. 2017) of New Orleans, LA; Carolyn (Andrew) Silverman of Berwyn, PA; Julia (Colin) Fish of Malvern, PA; Rosellen Enyart of Stamford, CT; and Dylan Enyart of Silver Spring, MD. Eight great-grandchildren brought her additional joy in her later years.

Those who knew Mrs. Enyart remembered her as someone who genuinely loved her life, her family, and the many communities she called home. Her long and colorful years were marked by an openness to experience and a gift for friendship that created lasting bonds across continents. Rosemary brought up her children to believe in the American Dream that she shaped for her family, and her values and character resound in the three generations she leaves behind.

Mrs. Enyart will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, a fitting final resting place for someone whose life was devoted to service alongside her diplomat husband and to the values of family, friendship, and community that she embodied throughout her remarkable 98 years.