I feel honored to have known Rosemary. A cherished friend, she also was a mentor to me, both as a journalist and as a teacher. //


Rosemary lived with grace and humor. A teacher of journalism at UNC Greensboro into her 80s, she said she would tell her students that she was the “oldest rat in the barn,” borrowing a nickname given to the late Thad Eure, who served as North Carolina’s secretary of state for more than 50 years. She likely provided that backstory to her students the way that she provided it to me, as everything in life was a teachable moment to her. // 


One thing I learned from Rosemary is to appreciate life’s little events. She wrote that she always enjoyed “a brisk walk from the parking lot” into work, words I hear almost every time I make my own asphalt trek. She took me up into the stacks of UNCG’s Jackson Library just to show me her writing nook. She relished sending students onto Greensboro’s Tate Street each semester to interview passersby about a current event. “It lets them feel what it’s like to be a reporter,” she said. // 

 
Ever a journalist, Rosemary held on to her news habit. In assisted living, she said she was delighted when a conservative neighbor dropped off a copy for her of what he called the “commie” New York Times. A staunch Democrat, she was an equal-opportunity friend. //


Rosemary was a woman of many kindnesses. I’ll be forever in her debt.


After working alongside Rosemary for years on the News & Record editorial page, both as a colleague and as her editor, I left with nothing but respect and affection for her. We were both “old school,” I suppose, relishing the process of creating something new and interesting every day, seven days a week. My friend truly left behind a life well-lived.


I remember Rosemary leading her journalism students for years through our N&R newsroom. I was always there, and I'd ended up talking to her students perched at my prairie-dog cubicle. 

Those discussions led to me talking to her journalism students for more than a decade at UNCG. She got me lecturing and paid me in bottles. A bottle of bourbon in the winter; a bottle of gin in the spring. She helped realize how much I enjoyed teaching.  And she roped me into it. Never forget her for that.

Plus, I got to see her every semester. We'd stick together after class. We'd walk to her car talking journalism, and she'd fill me in on her sons, her grandkids and her life far from her second-floor classroom in Graham. And always, ALWAYS, she wanted to know the skinny about her old newsroom. The personalities and spirit lost. And the personalities and spirit that remained.  

Learned so much from her. The big thing, though? The ink never leaves your veins. And from Rosemary, I realized that's a good thing. 

Thanks, Rosie.  

OBITUARY

Rosemary Roberts

April 1, 1938 – January 26, 2022

Hanes Lineberry Funeral Home

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