RosaLee was born September 18, 1933 in Willis, Oklahoma to Carter and Jewel Forguson. She was the second youngest of twelve siblings, and told her children and grandchildren many tales of the games and pranks that were a constant in the large family. Her family raised cotton and sometimes sharecropped in hard seasons to help other families (who didn’t have twelve children) get their own harvests in. Her whole family was very musical and RosaLee even sang sometimes on the radio.
She moved with her sister, Ruby, to Fort Worth at 18 years old. When she 19 she was walking to work one day and walked in front of the car of a young marine. She would tell you the sun was in her eyes, but he told anyone who would listen that she winked at him. This alleged wink led him into Brown’s Pharmacy, where she worked, where she made him “a burger as big as his face and a malt with two scoops of ice cream.” This chance encounter led them to a marriage that surpassed 60 years and has inspired their children and grandchildren to strive for a love like theirs.
RosaLee had five children with Wesley, a son and four daughters. Their son was stillborn and their daughter Mary Ann passed away at 3 years old from nephritis. The loss of these children, while devastating, brought both RosaLee and Wesley closer in their relationship to the Lord. This relationship is something that filled their household and a passion for God is something that they passed on to their three surviving daughters: Sheila, Pene, and Martha.
RosaLee was a skilled bowler and proudly displayed the many trophies she won. It was a passion of hers and the family spent many evenings at the local lanes. She was an exceptionally hard worker and always had a job. She worked her way up to the position of store manager at the local Town & Country after the family moved to Crowley, Texas in 1971 and when the opportunity presented itself, she learned the trade of Pharmacy Tech. She worked as a pharmacy tech at Town & Country and then Eckerd’s, where she retired after many years of cheerful service. Her nails and her hair were very important to her. She loved to have her nails done and every week, like clockwork, she visited “the beautiful shop” to get her signature bubble hair-do refreshed. The Badgeros loved the outdoors and often packed up cold chicken and went to spend the weekend fishing and camping under the stars on the Brazos River.
RosaLee was extraordinarily kind, funny, and clever. She had a sharp wit and a quick tongue, never needing a moment to gather her thoughts or form a retort. She didn’t have the opportunity in her youth to receive a college education. As a result, she made sure to instill a love of learning in her children and grandchildren. She was known to sit you down and drill you on your multiplication tables or on World War II, saying nothing is more important than education.
She loved her family above all else. Her grandchildren will tell you their love for the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys was instilled in them at birth by their grandmother, who could be found whooping and hollering at the TV every game day. Where most wives complain about their husbands watching too much sports tv, it was the opposite in the Badgero household. Wesley complained often that the only thing his wife would let him watch was sports, even though he wanted to watch Westerns or the Discovery Channel. Her face lit up every time one of her grandchildren would walk in the door, no matter how long it had been since she had seen them, and she would always greet you with a “hello there” and a hug and say “I sure do love you.”
There was never a day when she didn’t have time for a grandchild. Whether it was to make them pig-in-a-blankets, braid their hair (tied off with bread ties, of course), scratch a back, count strikeouts at a softball game, cheer for her cheerleader, or to attend every mundane school event, she was there. She hated wearing shoes, having spent much of her life without them, but the request of a grandchild was all it took for her to slide them on and scoot out the door to whatever was deemed important by a child. She always had time to sew up a hole in a shirt, help you study, talk football, or make a sandwich.
She gave until it hurt and was an example of selflessness that those who knew her strive to measure up to. She was the number to call for any recipe as well as for honest advice. You might not like the (very direct) answer, but you knew she was right and so more often than not, that was what you did. She was the smartest woman most of us ever knew. There will never be a chicken fried steak, banana pudding, or pecan pie that will be as good as what Maw used to make. She taught all of her children and grandchildren to cook in her little kitchen with a family-famous cast iron skillet that will stay in the family for generations to come.
Anyone who met RosaLee couldn’t help but love her. She was a gracious friend who nurtured lifelong friendships until the day she passed. She was so kind and loving that the ex-boyfriends of her children and grandchildren would go to her house to check on her and visit, long after relationships were ended. She was kind to everyone and always ready to provide a meal. All were welcome into her family, she lived by the mantra “the more the merrier.” She instilled a nurturing heart in her children and grandchildren, encouraging them to “be the best Christian you can be, because you may be the best Christian someone ever meets.” She held her faith close to her heart her entire life and always kept a copy of Jesus Calling on her bedside table.
RosaLee joined our Father in Heaven on May 20, 2020. She was preceeded in death by her parents, Carter and Jewel Forguson; her siblings Tobe Forguson, Fred Forguson, OC Looney, Mabel Wallace, Raymond Forguson, Hazel Forguson, CB Forguson, RV Forguson, Glenn Forguson, Ruby Buckaloo, and CA Forguson, Jr.; her son Wesley David Badgero; her daughters Mary Ann Badgero, Pene Johnson, and Martha Dennie.
She is survived by her daughter, Sheila Badgero-Sharp; her grandchildren, Samantha Sharp, Chad Smith and fiancé Sabrina Sanders, Heather Nunley and husband Ryan, Christina Johnson, Hailey Nunley and husband Tyler, Wesley Sharp, and Hannah Dennie; her great-granddaughter, Kenzie Miller; she is also survived by many nieces and nephews and many treasured lifelong friends, who she loved to keep up with on Facebook.
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5