Rosa

I've known Rosa for almost 10 years.  She was the Corresponding Secretary of the Democratic Women in Action, almost from its inception.  I wrote, and she edited, our bi-monthly newsletter.

Born and raised in Mexico, she studied secretarial skills in high school.  She eventually met her American husband George and emigrated to western Canada, where he worked as an engineer.  After a while, this petite Mexican woman moved with George to Georgia.  She got a job as a secretary in a big office there.  It was then that she became an American citizen.  Eventually, work brought them to Arizona and when he retired, they moved to Green Valley.  Both of them got quietly active in politics.  George passed away about four years ago. Then she lost her companion, her dog Rusty.

Several months ago, when I called to remind her about our monthly gathering of friends, she told me that she was having problems with her memory and had voluntarily given up driving.  I picked her up so she could meet with us.  I got a call last week from a former member of the club who told me Rosa had moved into an assisted living facility.  She has no family here. There's a sister on the east coast and the rest is  in Mexico. 

The facility had a 'housewarming' party for her.  A couple dozen people came.  Rosa, with her mild manner and quick smile, is loved by many in the community.  At DeWA, we tried to be an inclusive club so we relied on her to translate for us every now and then.  Our motto was "Women Make a Difference" and written below it on our logo and correspondence was Rosa's version: "las mujeres hacen la diferencia"


Iditarod update: Mitch Seavey is nearing the end, less than 50 miles to go!  His son, Dallas, is only a few miles behind. It looks like there may be 3 women finishing in the top ten.