ROSALIA (ROSE) STELLA OVERDREEF (SHUMSKI)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

ROSALIA (ROSE) STELLA OVERDREEF (nee SHUMSKI) September 24, 1932 - March 1, 2016 I am deeply saddened to announce the passing of Rose; our Mom, Baba, Gramma, Wife and Friend. She died peacefully of natural causes with her son at her side during her last days of semi-consciousness. She was one tough cookie, this lady named Rose. She got her fifteen minutes of fame in 1944 when she was 12 years old and became one of the first people to survive meningitis. News reporters visited her and the story became national. There were numerous other medical emergencies over the decades that nearly took her life. Then there were the personal tragedies that she survived, like the gradual loss of almost her entire immediate family, dying before their time; the last of which were one of her two sons William and our doggie Chu Chu. Mom grew up in the north end of Winnipeg and was a true "North Ender" until she passed away, even though she spent 10 years in Vancouver and 38 years in Fort Garry. As a child, her favourite hobby was going to the movies eight days a week. The kids called her "Movie Star". After spending time on the west coast we moved back to Winnipeg in 1978. I promptly got her a job at my employer, Victoria General Hospital, working in the kitchen with her chef's degree for 16 years before retiring. In 1980, she met the dream of her life Stan Forbes, who showed her the world; half a dozen trips to Europe and a million trips to Grand Beach and Shooting Star Casino. Lastly and most importantly, she was Mom! The most overly protective and doting Mom on earth! Without exaggeration! Butaren't all Moms infallible? I'll miss you Mom. Horribly so! But you're out of your misery now, and you'll see your family members again. And I'll see you again on Friday, May 6, 1955. Funeral service will be held Monday, March 7, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Voyage Funeral Home, 220 Hespeler at Henderson Hwy., with interment to follow at All Saints Cemetery.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 05, 2016