Rosemary Ann (Gardiner) Brodeur, 87, passed away peacefully, Friday, April 20, 2018 at Wildwood Canyon Villas in Yucaipa. The daughter of the late Harold and Dorothy Gardiner, she was born December 27th, 1930 in Providence, RI. She was, a resident of Warwick RI, Cypress and San Jacinto, CA.
Rosemary was preceded in death by her high school sweetheart, and husband of 65 years, James (Jim) Brodeur. She is survived by her son, David Brodeur, and daughters Debi Lucas and Diane Lynsky. She also is survived by her seven grandchildren: Heather and James Brodeur; Jake, Josh and Jill Lucas; Ryan and Cheyenne Lynsky. She also leaves behind eight great-grandchildren.
Rosemary graduated in 1948 from Aldrich High School in Warwick, RI. She was active in school with baton twirling, swimming and other sports. She met her future husband, Jim, at a high school football game and they eventually married in 1951. Rosemary worked in a variety of business and clerical roles until she turned the focus to raising her three children. During their long marriage Jim and Rosemary enjoyed dancing, traveling with their close neighborhood friends, and numerous Caribbean Island award-celebration trips. Rosemary and Jim were avid golfers, and longtime members of the Soboba Springs Country Club.
Rosemary believed in the power of education, and especially women improving their quality of life through education. After raising her children, she returned to college and graduated from California State University Long Beach (CSULB) with a Teaching Credential in 1976. She became involved with special education and was particularly passionate about working with deaf and hard-of-hearing elementary-age children. She worked as a teacher in Orange County for over 20 years. She continued her support of women in education, with her involvement in the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Hemet-San Jacinto Chapter.
She loved history. After losing her parents, sister and twin brother at a young age, she became fascinated with genealogy and learning as much about her family roots as possible. She dedicated herself to thousands of hours of research and was ultimately successful at adding a new heritage line to the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). She was an active member of the DAR, Estudillo Chapter in Hemet, CA for a number of years.
She vowed at a young age to not let circumstances get in her way of living her life with no regrets; this she accomplished. We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Rosemary; her legacy of intelligence, unselfishness, elegance and grace will live on.
A memorial will be held on May 11th, 2018 at 1:00 pm at the Riverside National Cemetery followed by a celebration of life reception at the Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that a donation be made to the Salvation Army, or another Veteran’s organization.
“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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