Rosemary J. Reszel

Rosemary J Reszel, 87, of Fort Wayne, passed away on January 8, 2020. Born on August 6, 1932, in St Louis, Missouri, she was the daughter of the late Mariano M and Marion (Turkington) Maya, and was a member of St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Dr Paul A Reszel; children, Paul T (Mary) Reszel, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Melanie (Tom) Offerle, and Debora (Nick) Hodgman, both of Fort Wayne, Gregory (Carolyn) Reszel, of St Joe, and Marissa (Jim) Regan, of Mt Pleasant, South Carolina; and grandchildren, Annette, Anthony, and Luke Offerle, Nathan Sanders, Nicholas and Juliana Hodgman, Scott Reszel, Alyson, James and Rachel Regan.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 am, Monday, January 13, 2020, at St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1502 East Wallen Road, Fort Wayne, with calling one hour prior. Fr. Fernando Polycarp, officiating. Calling will also be held from 2 to 6, Sunday, January, 12, 2020, at D. O. McComb and Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 East Dupont Road, Fort Wayne, with Rosary Service at 5:30 pm. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Memorial donations may be given to Bishop Dwenger High School or Visiting Nurse Hospice, Fort Wayne. For online condolences please visit www.mccombandsons.com

Rosemary Reszel was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on August 6th in 1932. Rosemary was an only child and at a young age she moved with her mother to Santa Rosa, California, after the separation of her parents’ marriage. Her mother suddenly died at an early age, however, and her stepfather placed her in a Catholic boarding school where she stayed through her junior year of high school. While there, Rosemary converted to Catholicism (she still remains a firm believer to this day), studied piano, and sang in the choir. For the remainder of high school, Rosemary lived with her biological father on Long Island, which is outside New York City. After graduating high school, Rosemary tried college in New York City, but didn’t like that. She subsequently enrolled and boarded in the School of Nursing associated with Bellevue Hospital on New York City’s lower East Side. While there, she paid her tuition by baby-sitting in the surrounding apartment complexes. It was during this time that she met her future husband, Paul, who was a medical student at a school associated with Bellevue. They eventually married in 1954 after both of their graduations. Paul’s farther studies caused them to relocate: first to Buffalo, NY, where Rosemary worked as a nurse until their first child Paul T. was born, and then to Rochester, MN, for a fellowship at Mayo Clinic. After only six months in Rochester, Paul was drafted as a doctor into the U.S. Navy and served on the U.S. Ajax. Soon after the U.S. Ajax was deployed to Japan, Rosemary went to stay with her in-laws in New York for six months until the ship returned. Rosemary and Paul then went to live in San Diego for a year and a half; while there, their daughter Melanie was born. After discharge from active duty, they returned to Rochester, MN, until Paul finished his fellowship there in 1956. While there, son Gregory and daughter Debra were born. After Paul finished his medical training, the family moved to New Rochelle-just outside of New York-where Paul worked for three years in an orthopedic practice. In 1966, Paul accepted a better position as partner with John Lee in Fort Wayne, where the family has since finally settled. Once in Fort Wayne, Rosemary and Paul expanded their family once more with the birth of their youngest child Marissa, but this happy occasion came with many challenges. A problem with the couple’s blood types resulted in the birth of two stillborn babies before Marissa’s birth. Additionally, Marissa had to receive a blood transfusion from a pioneering Indianapolis doctor-Dr. Charles Echt-while she was still in utero, and her actual delivery was performed via C-section.

During her life, Rosemary enjoyed many trips and excursions.

She traveled to Austria, Hungary, England (with a side trip to France), and Spain. Rosemary also traveled to Yugoslavia twice; during one of these trips, she visited Medjugorje, where it is said that the Virgin Mary appeared to local children. She also enjoyed different sports and activities such as tennis, ballroom dancing and line dancing, roller-blading, and snow skiing (in Michigan and Colorado). Rosemary also took up taekwondo with her grandchildren, and continued even after they quit, eventually progressing to first degree black belt and winning trophies in competition! Rosemary has lived at Lutheran Life Villages Pine Valley for six years. She was elected Prom Queen at the LLV-PV 2014 Senior Prom. We are lucky to have her here with us!