Rosa Lean Whitaker

It was early spring, on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1933, when Jack and Patsy Cash gave birth to their 12th child, a healthy and beautiful baby girl. The couple named their baby girl Rosie. This baby girl grew to be a beautiful child. Rosie, a self-confessed Daddy's girl that admits she followed in her father's every footstep, going with him wherever he went. When he hitched the horses to the wagon, she was right there by his side.

Jack Cash, Rosie's father, loved the Lord, was a faithful servant and a member and a deacon in the Morning Star Baptist Church. He attended church regularly, and beside him was his baby girl, Rosie. Rosie was there singing and praising the Lord right beside her father. They sang those old gospel hymns such as “A Charge to Keep I Have” and “Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah!” Rosie saw and heard the wailing and the moaning; she listened to and absorbed the scripture readings; she heard the fervent prayers of the righteous; and digested the preacher’s teachings of Jesus Christ and the Cross. She gave her heart, and indeed, her soul, to the Lord. Rosie confessed and accepted Christ at the age of twelve. She was baptized the second Sunday in August 1945 and united with the Morning Star Baptist Church under the leadership of the Rev. Stills.

Rosie attended several different elementary schools. First, she went to the Morning Star community school, which was housed at Morning Star Baptist Church. She then attended Hi Pine elementary school in Stonewall. Finally, she moved to Houston with her sister, Leila Glenn. Rosie and Leila’s daughter, Ura Lee, attended Crawford elementary in Houston, Texas. Later, Rosa returned to her home in Gloster, and pursued her high school diploma in De Soto parish.

However, completing high school proved to be an arduous task. The nearest high school was in Mansfield. She and her cousin, Ida, walked eight miles from her home in Morning Star to Highway 171 to catch the school bus. The ride was another 15 to 20 miles to the school. She encountered the same journey each day on her return home. She would have to walk about eight miles to get home. This proved to be a tremendous burden. Yet, she persevered. At one point, even lodged with friends/relatives residing closer to Highway 171 so that she could shorten the walk and the travel time. Rosie was able to complete the 11th grade but did not get the high school diploma she desperately wanted.

Rosie was 18 years old when she married a former classmate, George Persley Sr., a young, handsome tractor driver. They were married on Saturday, June 30, 1951, in Caddo parish. The newlyweds immediately moved to Stonewall into a refurbished, fully furnished three-room shotgun house equipped with a brand-new stove.

Rosie was happy. She had everything she wanted and needed. She had wonderful in-laws that loved her, and she loved them. Her mother-in-law, Ms. Estella, was very loving and extremely supportive. The new couple thrived. George drove tractors, and Rosie worked various jobs. About a year and a half later, on January 28, 1953, they welcomed a new baby boy. They named the baby George Persley, Jr., and called him Sonny.

It was late summer 1953. Rosie and baby George were fine, living at home in the Morning Star area with her parents, several siblings and several nephews and nieces, including Tancy and Toot. During late summer, the big cotton companies would send work trucks to various communities including but not limited to Holly and Morning Star to transport workers to pick cotton. Rosie and her cousin Ida decided to take advantage of this. They decided to pick cotton and ride the work trucks to the cotton fields. One day, while picking cotton, a tall, thin dark man approached Rosie. He approached her and said, "I am looking for a wife!" Rosie, stunned by his remark, replied "I'm sorry sir, I have a son." He responded, "I too have a son. “About six months later, on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1954, Rosie found herself in her parents' backyard in front of the Rev. Henry Dunn, saying "I do!"

The 21-year-old Rosie, the six-month-old baby, George, and Johnny were the beginnings of a new family. They immediately moved to the community of Holly and lived in Johnny's family home. J.D., Johnny’s oldest son from a previous wife, lived with his mother.

The family grew.

At that time good jobs were hard to find. So, the family moved to Galveston, Texas seeking better employment and a better life. Johnny was employed by Moody Compress and Rosie did various jobs, including working as a waitress and housekeeper. Then, about a year or so later, the family began to grow. First came Leo and then June. Rosie would go home to Morning Star for the birth of each of her children.

Just before the birth of Chris, the couple had two additional rooms added to Johnny's family home. Rosie, George, Leo, June, and Chris would stay in Holly and tend to the home while Johnny, unable to find gainful employment in DeSoto parish, remained in Galveston.

While in Holly, in addition to tending to the family, she attended St. Mark Baptist Church sang in the choir. Church attendance was an absolute priority for Rosie and her family. She attended Saint Mark on the fourth Sundays and Morningstar, on the second Sundays. If, and when she was not able to attend, she ensured her children attended.

Rosie worked a variety of jobs, including working as a housekeeper. The nearest housekeeping jobs were in Shreveport so again she found herself walking the dirt road to the highway to catch a ride into the city. On a daily basis, she would walk about a fourth of a mile down a long dirt road to Highway 175 to catch a ride on the back of an old covered pick-up truck driven by McFair Fuller at a fare of one dollar a day. There was no air and no heat, and she would ride thirty miles into the city to her job and thirty miles back home. She was often dropped off in the dark, facing that fourth of a mile walk in the dark of the evening. Fortunately, during this time, George and Leo were in their preteens and would meet her at the drop off point and walk her home. Rosie persevered.

Johnny returned to Holly about a year and a half later. He took a job at Bayfield. The entire family was united again. Everything is good. Johnny and Rosie were both working. George, Leo, June, and Chris were in school at Second Ward and attending Sunday school and church on a regular basis at St. Mark. George and June took piano lessons. George played the piano for the youth choir, June sang in the youth choir, Leo was a youth usher, and Chris was the baby.

Johnny and Rosie, both were non-nonsense parents. The children’s expectations were clear. Education was the number one priority. Children were to attend school and do their schoolwork on a daily basis without exception. Tasks were to be done without being told and were to be done well. Children were expected to obey their parents, and to respect all elders. Disobedience and lying would most surely result in some form of physical punishment involving a switch or a belt.

The family was blessed.

The family prospered. Yet, the family sought better employment and educational opportunities. The family would split again. Only this time, Johnny remained in Holly, tending to the family and work. Rosie and George, now a young man, would travel to Houston and prepare for the family’s move.

Upon arrival in Houston, Rosie and George resided with her niece, Frank, and Theola Preston. Rosa and George united with the First St. Mark Baptist Church, under the leadership of Rev. Weathers. She joined the choir, attended church regularly and George played the piano.

She took housekeeping jobs again and George completed his high school education at Jeff Davis and started college courses at Texas Southern University studying the piano and working part time. In May 1969, Rosie was hired as a substitute janitor/custodian with the Houston Independent School District. Rosie moved into a house, 2313 Maury, in 1971 and was shortly joined by June and Chris. Johnny and Leo remained in Holly.

In 1972, Rosie gained full employment with HISD and would work there until she retired in 1997. She also continued to work part time as a housekeeper for many years while employed by HISD. Johnny and Leo moved to Houston in 1972. Once again, the entire family was united. Johnny took a job with Texas Marines and worked there until his retirement. Johnny and Rosie purchased 2313 Maury and remodeled the house. They remained in the home and were blessed to see all their children graduate from high school and attend at least one year of education beyond high school. They were also blessed to see the beginning of George, Leo, and Chris’s families. As most grandparents do, they did lots of babysitting for their grandchildren.

After retirement from HISD, Rosie worked part time as a caregiver for Ms. Audrey Sampson for many years until Ms. Sampson’s death. She then cared for her own now elderly, disabled and beloved husband, Johnny, until his death in November 2004. After the death of her husband and due to deteriorating health, she moved from her home and resided with her daughter, June. She united with the New Covenant Christian Church under the leadership of Bishop Bill Hines passed away on November 8, 2023, at the age of ninety after a brief illness. She and her husband, Johnny, are back together again.

Rosa is preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Patsy Cash, her loving husband, Johnny Whitaker Jr, two grandsons, Ryan Keith Persley and Leo Whitaker Jr., and twelve siblings.

She leaves to mourn three sons, George Persley, Jr. (Sylvia) Leo Whitaker (Thelma), Chris Whitaker (Edna,) and daughter, June Whitaker, grandchildren, and a host of family and friends.