Rose Yormark

Rose Yormark, nee Greenstein, age 97, of Winnetka. Beloved wife of 50 years to the late Harvey; loving mother of Deanna (Burton) Scott and Barbara Yormark; fond grandmother of Craig (Heather) Scott, Lisa (Marc) Rush and David A. Scott; proud great-grandmother of Alex, Meredith, Haley, Stephanie and Harrison; dear sister of the late Sidney Greenstein; preceded by dear parents, Charles and Annie Greenstein. Funeral service was Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at the Weinstein Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd., Wilmette. Interment Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie.

To Rosie from Her Daughter Dee-Dee

Larger than Life

A super star…a ravishing beauty, a head turner, impeccably groomed, wrapped in furs, wrapped in diamonds, married to a very handsome and successful man who stood his own, a Hollywood social life, very charitable, travelled the world over, women all wanted to be her friend, and men dropped at her feet. Elizabeth Taylor? No…this was my mother.

Humble beginnings

Her life didn’t start this way. She was born in Chicago to Annie and Charlie Greenstein of humble means who saved money in the cookie jar and struggled to make ends meet. She had a younger brother Sidney who she took under her wing, as her mother and father only spoke Yiddish. She brought him to school, did all the paper work, and played the mother role for him.

The new tenants

When she was 18, Annie and Charlie bought a two flat apartment on Division Street and Spaulding Avenue with the money they saved. The upstairs was vacant, but soon they had some tenants who rented out the flat. The first time that the son of the new tenants cast his eyes on the astonishing beauty who lived downstairs he made up his mind that she was going to be his wife.

He tried to date her but she was deeply involved with a man named Jack Sperling who had political aspirations and eventually became an Alderman. My father would stake out at the upstairs window to watch when Jack would pick her up for a date. He would then stage an accidental meeting in the downstairs hallway as Jack was walking Rosie out, and then would put his arm around my mother, kiss her on the cheek, and tell Jack, “Make sure you take good care of my girl.”

Before long, Jack became suspicious that something was going on between my dad and my mom which really wasn’t, and my dad sealed the deal when he secretly replaced Jack’s picture on the piano with his own, unknown to my mother. When Jack saw my dad’s picture on the piano, my mother never saw Jack again.

My father achieved his goal

My father adored my mother and she was his perfect ideal woman. My father swept my mother off her feet, and as he promised himself, Rose became his bride in 1935 and three years later I was born. My parents had a very romantic relationship. They turned heads wherever they went.

Life was not easy for them

Four years after my birth, my sister was born. Their perfect world was shattered when they found out that my sister was mentally impaired and they spent large amounts of time and money trying to find a place to help her but to no avail. Their difficult plight never seemed to affect their romantic relationship. They travelled the world, they took cruises, went to Vegas often, they were avid fans of theater and opera, would never miss seeing the top stars whenever they were in town or out of town, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Elvis Presley -- yet they were never negligent of my sister’s needs.

Everyone loved my mother

In addition to be a ravishing beauty, my mother was charismatic. She would charm anyone who would meet her, and people always wanted Rosie to be a part of their life whether it would be lunch, dinner, bridge, bowling, maj jonn, golf, parties or social events. She was constantly moving, she was great fun, and she was always ready to go. Because of that, her friends were usually 20 years younger than she was.

They moved to Winnetka

My dad felt that my sister would benefit from having their own house, so they moved to Winnetka when I was 9. They became very active in Beth El. My father was president of the men’s club and my mother was president of the sisterhood. They found many friendships through the temple, and had a complete social life with their friends whether it be dinner parties, attending Jewish Bible studies in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, charitable events or dances. And OMG, they were so so beautiful on the dance floor together.

She was always there; she never missed an event of mine, her grandchildren, or her great grandchildren. When I thought it was a good idea to have a family trip to Captiva Island to celebrate my husband’s 60th birthday and we could all stay in one large house, she said let’s go…and when I told her how expensive it was, she was quick to cover the costs. She was generous; she was enthusiastic and was game for anything.

My father was always trying to teach my mother the work ethic

When my mother was 40, my dad had a surprise party for my mother at a farm. The party was a treasure hunt for my mother; each friend made up one clue, which then led to another. The last clue was written by my father. It said, “Rosie, life is not always easy. To find things of real value, you always have to work for it.” My mother searched and searched and found nothing and then eureka…she thought of the horse barn. Sure enough, there was a huge pile of hay with a note tied to a pitchfork from my father saying, “Rosie, you have to feed the horses.”My immaculate mother dug into the hay and fed the horses, and under the hay was a huge big bag that said, “For Rosie, the Love of My Life!” She opened the bag and in it was a mink coat from my father.

More About Rosie

Let me wrap up the remaining 57 years of her life after her 40th birthday.

• She was fun.

• She was classy.

• She was a great cook.

• She was generous.

• She was beautiful.

• She dressed impeccably.

• She had a great laugh.

• She loved the bright lights of Vegas.

• She took in her mother and brother when their house burned down and let them live with her.

• She visited my sister weekly after my sister was institutionalized.

• She brought kosher food to her mother every week.

• She was always there for her grandchildren.

• She was always there for her great grandchildren.

• She was loved in the nursing home.

• Nurses cried and the Rabbi when she was dying.

• She stayed alive until all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren could say good-bye to her.

• And when everyone left, she just stopped breathing and died as gracefully as she lived.

• She was there for me.

• I cannot imagine the world without Rosie.

• I am sad – and I know we will all miss her.

• But my dad is happy because he is now dancing with her.

If you have donations in Rosie’s honor, please mail them to:

Passages Hospice Dream Foundation

Attention: Kansas Swain

134 N. McLean Blvd.

Elgin, IL 60123

To My Grandma Rose from Her Grandson Craig

Let me share with you how I remember my Grandma, Rose.

As far back as I remember, I was always excited to visit or spend time with Grandma Rose and Grandpa Harvey.

I remember her when we were kids, Sunday nights in front of her TV we would share Ed Sullivan letting us stay up late; spoiling us kids like all grandparents do, but with an edge. .. the same edge Rose had with many of you that knew her well.

I remember her by sneaking into her secret “clown cookie jar" that she kept high on a shelf in her kitchen; encouraged by her 'live in' Octavia, whom she treated as a part of the family. but With that same Rosie 'edge'.

I remember as we grew, family vacations led by Rose and Harvey to Florida at the Diplomat Hotel, to Jamaica in Port Antonio, giving us memories we will never forget.

I remember Rose knowing everyone everywhere we went to as children, thinking I was in the presence of the North Shore movie star. She thought of herself that way, and all that knew her supported her fame.

I remember the beauty shop every day. And I remember white hair being sexy. Maybe that’s why I tell Heather don’t worry about coloring your hair.

In our adult years, we saw Rose endure pain with the loss of our family patriarch Harvey, and later the loss of her brother Sidney. She had strength and composure while also showing compassion and emotion mourning the loss of her brother, and most important the loss of her one and only love, Harvey.

I remember her continued support, unconditional love, and catfights with Rose's other true love, my mother Dee Dee, who inherited that ability to love with deep compassion , but relentless work ethic that took care of her mother, and continues to shine through for David and Barbara.

I also remember in her decline, as she began to pare down her vocabulary, the words that stuck were I Love You, and You are Beautiful.

So that is how I remember you Grandma Rose. You truly loved your family first, and all of your friends and fans, and most importantly, because Grandma Rose we know you are listening, you were Beautiful.

To My Grandma from David

Hi I’m David, Rose’s youngest grandson.

I just want to say a few things about my Grandma. Above all she loved her family dearly. You could count on her to be there for every occasion. If you needed her, she would always be there for you. And with her loyalty, you always got that ‘Grandma’s smile’ that showed her love for you. I will miss her smile, I will miss her presence, and I will love her forever.

To Grandma Rose from Lisa, her Granddaughter

It is no coincidence that today is Tuesday. Jews pray twice on Tuesday making it twice as Holy..and of course it is sunny because my Grandma Rose was a ray of sunshine. Her name Rose is synonymous with the beautiful flower itself. She literally blossomed the minute she entered the room.

We were so alike and yet so different. She was so happy when I was born because she finally had a “shopper” and my mother Dee-Dee was definitely not a shopper. I looked up to my Grandma as a devoted Jewish matriarch of our family. She was president of Beth El Sisterhood and an active member of the temple for years. We begged her to leave Beth El because my family were members of North Shore (and also services were way too long at Beth El) –and just like my Grandma, she followed us just to stay together as a family.

My Grandma taught me to be a good wife and a charitable person – and to look good while we were doing it. We lost my Grandfather Harvey way too early, and after he was gone, Grandma became even a more integral part of our family. There was never an occasion that Grandma Rose was not with us.

They say when you leave the world, the most honorable memory is to leave your name – and did she ever leave her mark. No one will ever forget Rosie Yormark – you will forever be in our hearts.

And oh yes Grandma, I promise you that I will always have lipstick on when my husband comes home!!!

To Gigi from Alex, her Great Grandson

Hi everyone. I’m Alex and I’m the oldest great grandchild speaking for all of the great grandchildren. I have been blessed that during my 18 years walking this earth, I have only experienced death once, and it was when I was 8 years old. This is weird for me because now I am old enough to understand what it means.

On this planet we measure a life in years, in birthdays. For my past 18 years, I have shared my birthday with my Gigi. (Oh, and by the way, we call Gigi for Great Grandmother). Gigi and I were both born on October 1st – 79 years apart.

At a young age I would constantly ask my mom during my birthday if Gigi would always be celebrating her birthday with me. My mom said yes, but that she wouldn’t always be sitting next to me to blow out the candles. Unfortunately, on my next birthday, I will be blowing my candles out alone. Although she might not literally be next to me, I know Gig will be there in the room watching over us all.

Although the lifecycle is inevitable, we will always miss the woman that Rose Yormark was. Stronger than the power of loss that we feel, however, is the power of love, and we have no lack of love in this room. We will always remember Gig’s warm touch on our backs, we will always remember her gentle voice in our ears, and we will always remember her ruby red lipstick on our cheeks.

Gigi, wherever you are, we know you are there with style and with a beaming smile on your face. Gigi, your light in our hearts will never go out, and it will shine bright forever. We all love and miss you Gigi, and we wish you a peaceful rest.