Rosemary Patricia Noor

She passed away peacefully Friday, May 8, at her home near Grand Rapids.

The only times this gentle woman raised her voice were the occasions when she and her daughters became incapacitated by shrieking, uncontrollable laughter at the lamest, least sensical, most ridiculous puns ever uttered. This happened, a lot.

Rose was born in 1934, and raised on Grand Rapids’ west side. She met Frank Noor at a rollerskating rink, falling for him and his baby blue convertible. They were married in 1953 before Frank left for Korea with the Army. An inseparable unit until Frank’s passing in 2017, the couple raised four daughters.

The daughters’ childhoods were filled with outdoor adventures around their home in then-rural Comstock Park (North of Grand Rapids) and regular trips to the Noor cottage in the woods near Baldwin. These trips involved one wooden-paneled station wagon loaded with six humans, a dog or two and the requisite luggage including an ample supply of fishing gear. In a pre-seat-belt era it was a bit like a bouncy house on wheels. As her daughter Karen tells it, Karen was relegated to the “way back” seat position because of her propensity for motion sickness, which often ended with a mess. This happened, a lot.

Rose worked a variety of jobs including processing orders for the Michigan Bulb Company and for the Quality Creamery, which delivered milk to your doorstep.

Her friends and family were privileged to be frequent visitors to Frank and Rose’s summer home nestled deep in the woods of the Upper Peninsula on a small lake. There was an endless supply of her signature snickerdoodle cookies, pie, Frank’s homemade hash browns, and Rose’s “Better Than Sex” cake. She liked to say that. “Would you like something for dessert? Maybe something BETTER THAN SEX??!!.” And she’d laugh, and laugh. And if her daughters were there they would laugh too. And someone would say something even more inappropriate. And they’d laugh harder. And then someone would say something completely out-of-bounds and no one could catch their breath. This happened, a lot.

Rose was always up for a hike, a fishing trip or a drive to one of the Yooper hangouts where they were regulars. Places with names like The Dogpatch, The Midway, The Buckhorn and the Camel Rider. But she was just as content to sit on the dock with friends or family, her toes dangling in the water and steaming cup of coffee in her hands. She would demand “Too-Tight® hugs” from all comers, her signature phrase.

Rose was raised by adoptive parents. In 2001, a combination of research, lucky coincidences, and perhaps divine intervention led her to discover she had siblings she’d never known, they’d learned of her, and wanted to meet her.

“Come for lunch,” they suggested through mutual acquaintances. So, on the appointed day she gathered the daughters and drove to a rambling farmhouse for a lunch meeting with Rose’s siblings. Would it be weird? Awkward? Would they like her? Would she like them.

They rounded a bend to see a giant “Welcome Home Avis Rose” banner and what looked like a small village of relatives including Rose’s brother and six (six!) sisters standing in wait beside a buffet table the length of a football field. Her acceptance into the Byrne Family and the stories, laughter and blessings that filled the succeeding years truly overflowed her cup.

When the father of one of her sons-in-law entered Alzheimer’s care in 2017 it was Rose who unfailingly sent cards and notes almost weekly. “Rose Noor?!” he would exclaim, reading the return address. “Do I know a Rose Noor?” Assured that he did, indeed, he’d break into a smile. “Well, seems like I have a fan club!” That happened, a lot.

So family will stand graveside, social distanced, and say goodbye. And there will be a second, more joyful gathering later on. Because saying goodbye without a whole lot of Too-Tight® hugging would not be right.

Surviving are her four daughters, Kathleen Qutub, Karen McDiarmid, Lisa Nyenhuis and Laura Warsaw; brother Norman Byrne and sister-in-law Rosemary Byrne; sister Margie Smith and brother-in-law Gene Smith; sister Leonna Scott and brother-in-law Mike Scott; and sisters Lil Vroma, Zeta Smith, Bess Walthorn, and Rose Smith and fiancé John Stephenson; sons-in-law Scott Warsaw, Tom Nyenhuis, William Qutub and Hugh McDiarmid; and a slew of grandchildren and a great-grandson.