Rose Errigo

Rose Errigo passed away peacefully on Christmas Day with family at her side. At 94, she continued to be involved in family celebrations and had enjoyed Thanksgiving just the month before with her family.

She was born in 1924 in Casablanca, Morocco and in her teens the events of WWII threatened her family. Growing up in French Morocco with her Jewish parents, Miriam and Aaron Ohayon, and her older sister and three brothers, Aida, Shlomo, Simon and David, her family was spared the fate of many Jews when the Americans prevented the Nazis from invading North Africa. Rose believed the Americans saved her family from a concentration camp. After WWII, three of her siblings moved to Israel with one moving on to America– all flourishing in their new countries.

Rose stayed in Casablanca and went to work for American Express, coordinating many dignitary visits, including Sir Winston Churchill and members of the Royal Family. That is where she met her future husband, Harry, when he was stationed in Europe by the American Corps of Civil Engineers in 1952. He was smitten by her, and after marrying, they moved to California. A few years later the couple and their young daughter Rosemary moved to Taiwan. They were there for three years and their second daughter Monique was born.

Rose was brought up with traditional values and learned the skills that a woman of her era should—cooking, sewing, knitting and child rearing. Settled again in the California, she was proud to become an American Citizen and was a strong patriot. Once her daughters were school age, she became a French teacher at Bluebird Academy in Calabasas, where she was a favorite with her students. In later years she worked in the Los Angeles school system at Parkman Junior High and later at Blue Cross Insurance before retiring. After retirement, Rose moved to Leisure Village in Camarillo prior to moving to Park Vista in Thousand Oaks in 2017.

Rose taught her children and grandchildren good manners, respect and sound moral values. She spent hours at her sewing machine making beautiful outfits for her daughters to wear, and in later years knitting blankets, sweaters and outfits for her grandchildren. Her grandchildren fondly recall her charming accent, her unconditional love, her contagious smile and her nurturing presence.

Her greatest legacy is her indefatigable spirit and her ability to make the best of everything, facing problems head on. Rose is preceded in death by her parents and siblings Aida, Shlomo, Simon and David, and her husband Harry Errigo. Rose is survived by her two daughters, Rosemary Allison and Monique Campbell, son-in-law Jim Allison, her grandchildren Cristina Rose, Jennifer, Joseph, Taylor, Cristina, Jaime, Jeffrey, and her great grandchildren Faith, Jackson, Siena, Ronan,and Shane.

Rose Errigo will be missed by all, but her memory will live on in us forever.