Roselle E. Saul

Jaggar. She had 3 sisters, Evie, Clara and Irene. Roselle also had 2 younger brothers named Dale and Leslie. Being the eldest of 6 children, Roselle helped raise her younger siblings. She was an excellent role model and loved her siblings dearly.

Roselle married Don Saul in 1942. Roselle and Don had their first child, Carolyn, in 1948. Carolyn was 11 pounds 6 ounces when she was born and was the biggest baby born in Mercy Hospital at that time. She was quite the celebrity and had her picture in the newspaper with her brand new baby girl! Roselle got pregnant with her second baby in 1949. This time, she had identical twin girls, named Diane and Donna Jean. Unfortunately, Donna Jean only lived for 3 days, so Roselle and Don went home with from the hospital with only one baby, Diane. Don and Roselle had another child named Peggy in December of 1951. They adored their 3 little girls!

In 1952, Don and Roselle bought a house in El Cajon on Manor Drive. El Cajon was a rural area at the time, but it was affordable and they enjoyed living there. They had many neighbors that they enjoyed talking to and going out to dinner with. Don and Roselle had their next daughter Cathy in 1957. Their 4 little girls were the highlight of their lives. Don worked the swing shift at North Island and took the ferry to work each night. Roselle went to work at a nursing home after Cathy was born. Don and Roselle’s daughter Mary, was born in 1959 and their 7th daughter Janet was born in 1962. At that point, Roselle quit her job and stayed at home and raised her daughters. Roselle loved her children very much. She always treated them fairly and expected them to always behave themselves. She never had an unkind word to say to anyone and was very kind, caring and loving. She was a great role model for her children, just like she was for her siblings.

Don and Roselle did not have much money, but enjoyed life. They would get together with Roselle’s siblings and their kids as often as they could and have picnics and trips to the beach. Her very favorite thing to do was to talk on the phone to her sisters or Mother. Hearing our mothers laugh while talking on the phone to each other was one of the highlights of our lives, as well as our cousins’ lives. Those special moments continued throughout all of our lives.

Roselle and Don both loved music. They watched the Lawrence Welk Show every Saturday night. They would also watch Andy Williams and other variety shows that came on together. Their older girls were in the El Cajon High School band and they enjoyed seeing them play their instruments and march in parades. They would invite Roselle’s siblings and their nieces and nephews out to El Cajon to watch the

Mother Goose Parade each year, and would make dinner for everyone that came out to watch the parade. Don and Roselle were very proud of their daughters and were delighted in all of their accomplishments.

In 1966, her husband Don started losing his eyesight to glaucoma and had to retire from North Island after working there 25 years. His glaucoma was severe and he almost lost his eyesight completely. He stayed home with the girls and Roselle had to go find a job. She had to do all the driving for the family, because Don could no longer drive. Roselle never complained. She was always able to make the best of what life handed her and always did it with a smile on her face! She was an incredibly strong woman,

Roselle got a job at Stephenson’s Memorial Hospital in 1966 in the dietary department. Shortly after she began working, Stephenson’s Memorial was purchased by Kaiser. She always enjoyed working for Kaiser and was promoted to a Supervisor in the Dietary Department. Roselle loved her job and was adored by her employees and the administration at Kaiser. She truly got along with everyone that she met. She had the pleasure of setting up the dietary department for the new Kaiser Zion Facility that opened in 1975, which she was very proud of!

Roselle had a very strong faith and attended Holy Trinity Catholic Church every Sunday. She always wanted her girls to look nice when they went to church, so she would sew matching dresses for her girls, especially at Easter time. Sometimes, she would make them matching pajamas at Christmas time, which her children loved.

Roselle helped plan each of her daughter’s weddings and would make the bridesmaids dresses herself. No matter how busy she was, she always had time for her daughters. Mary had asthma and Roselle would take her for allergy shots in San Diego after work twice a week and spent many a night in the Emergency Room with her when she had an asthma attack during the night. Again, you never heard her complain and she would get up and go to work the next morning.

Roselle ran the dietary department at the Zion Avenue facility until she retired from Kaiser in August of 1986, after 20 years. The day of her retirement, Kaiser administration gave her flowers and hired a limousine for her. There were many employees standing on the back dock of the Kaiser Facility and Roselle stood up through the sun roof of the limo and waved to everyone. It was so much fun to watch and you could tell that she was loved by all. That day was one of the many highlights of her life!

After retirement, Don and Roselle were able to travel and spend time together. Unfortunately, Don had a stroke in 1987 and was confined to a wheelchair. Roselle was a loving wife and caregiver to Don until his death in 2000. She never expressed any negative feelings and made the most of each day while she was taking care of him.

Many people say that there is nothing like a Mother’s love and they are right!

Our Mother was a truly wonderful person and showed love to every person that she met! We were all so blessed and thankful that we had such an intelligent, caring, kind and loving Mother.

Roselle lived on her own until the age of 89 and then moved into assisted living at Grossmont Gardens. The staff at Grossmont Gardens adored her and she always had a smile for everyone. She loved to play Bingo and listen to the singers when they came to Happy Hour each Wednesday afternoon.

Roselle loved her family very much and there was nothing she enjoyed more than visits from family and friends! She was a loving grandma and had her first grandchild in 1970. Roselle made a blanket for each of her grandchildren before they were born. Most all of them treasured the blanket that Grandma made for them and still do. When the grandchildren were babies and needed something to play with, she would bring out pots, spoons and Tupperware, which gave them something fun to play with and keep them occupied. Roselle also took each of her grandchildren out for lunch for their Birthday and they got to choose the restaurant. That was a very nice memory for her grandkids, because she made them feel special.

Roselle and Don were blessed with 14 grandchildren. They had 7 grandsons – Todd (Charlene), Ryan (Renee), Adam (Jess), Jonathan, Bryan, Brandon and Kyle and 7 granddaughters- Summer (Kevin), Amanda, Melissa (Steven), Brittany (Cory), Stefanie, Morgan and Alexis. They also had 16 great grandchildren, with 2 on the way. She loved them all very much and was always delighted to see them.

Roselle was 93 when she died on November 8, 2016. She is preceded in death by her husband Don and 3 daughters -Diane Bergman (Bob), Janet Kuehl (Ron) and Donna Jean, who died as an infant.

Roselle is survived by her daughters, Carolyn Gapen (Ralph), Peggy Barbarin (Lloyd), Cathy Gaut and Mary Carlson (Scott), her 14 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, her sister Clara, her brother Dale and many loving nieces and nephews.

She fought a fierce, courageous battle at the end of her life, dying how she lived … with dignity, strength and honor. She was an incredibly strong woman that was loved by everyone that had the pleasure to meet her. Our beloved mother, sister and grandmother, will remain in our hearts forever.

Mom, you will be loved and missed every single day! Please keep us under your wings!