Rosemarie Matlak, age 74, passed away at home on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 surrounded by her family. Rosemarie is survived by her husband, Michael Matlak; her five children, Ann Smith, Elizabeth Talbott, Robert Matlak, Steven Matlak, and David Matlak; her siblings, Thomas Von Hagel, Joseph Von Hagel; and her seventeen grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Rosemarie Von Hagel; her brother, David Von Hagel; and her sister, Johanna Kimmons.
Rosemarie was born on April 9, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Joseph and Rosemarie Von Hagel. She graduated from Our Lady of Angels High School in 1964. She married Michael Matlak on January 18, 1969. Rosemarie and Michael’s marriage of 51 years saw them live in Virginia, Maryland, and Minnesota during the first years of their marriage. Eventually, they settled in Salt Lake City in 1977 where they remained until the present. During her years in Salt Lake City, Rosemarie was actively involved in a number of churches including, the Evangelical Free Church of Salt Lake City, the Chinese Christian Church, and Grace Community Bible Church. Rosemarie was a founding board member of the Intermountain Christian School in Salt Lake City. Rosemarie was passionate about her faith in Jesus and was a devout student of the Bible. She loved to share her passion with women throughout the Salt Lake valley during her nearly ten years as the Women’s Teaching Leader with Bible Study Fellowship as well as through many church Sunday School and Bible Study programs. In her later years, she traveled numerous times overseas to Kenya where she ministered alongside her husband Michael at Kijabe Children’s Center. She would spend hours talking and praying with the patients and their families in their time of medical crisis. Rosemarie’s greatest legacy is the large number of people who came to learn more about the transforming love of Jesus Christ through Rose’s day-in, day-out faithful life, and witness. She spent her days praying for and encouraging her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and countless others as she sought to bring others closer to Jesus. She was diagnosed with aggressive and incurable cancer in August 2020. She died in the full confidence of knowing that she will spend eternity in the loving presence of God, not because of anything she had done in this life, but because of the saving love of Jesus given freely to all in his death and resurrection. She was a sinner saved by God’s grace, a humble and dedicated servant of God, a faithful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, and friend.
Services for Rosemarie will be held on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. A private viewing and burial will take place with the family that morning followed by a 2:30 pm Memorial Service at Grace Community Bible Church located at 11592 South 1300 East, Sandy, UT 84094. Masks and social-distancing will be required at this service due to COVID-19. For those unable to attend, the memorial service will be live-streamed.
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