Melrose native was a superior cook, talented baker

Published in the February 12, 2016 edition

DeRoche-obit-webMELROSE — Rosemary M. (Crowley) DeRoche, 85, of Melrose, passed away on Feb. 3.

Rosemary was born in Melrose on April 5, 1930 to Edward and Henrietta (Duggan) Crowley. She was one of eight children. Rosemary was raised in Melrose and attended St. Mary School.

She later married the late John DeRoche and had three children of her own. Rosemary was a devoted mother and her world revolved around her children. She thought she could never fall in love again, until her first grandchild was born. Her three grandsons and one great-grandson have given her more joy than she could have imagined. She was a very proud grandmother and would attend as many of her grandsons’ events as possible. She was also known to be heard bragging about their accomplishments.

Rosemary was a wonderful cook and a talented baker. She had a huge collection of cookbooks and was always ready to whip up a meal at a moment’s notice.

Sunday dinners were a tradition for Rosemary; she loved bringing her whole family together around the same table. She also loved to shop; going shopping with her was always eventful as she was sure to take her time and not miss anything. Throughout her life, Rosemary enjoyed traveling to Maine, including York and Ogunquit. She will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure to know her.

Rosemary was the loving mother of Janet Feeley and her husband Michael of Malden, Patricia Catalano and her husband Robert of Melrose and John DeRoche and his wife Dawn of Lynnfield. She was the proud grandmother of Jack Feeley and his wife Maria, John DeRoche and George DeRoche. She was the cherished great-grandmother of John Feeley. She was the caring sister of Dorothy Settemio of Malden, Robert Crowley of Reading and her late siblings Catherine Fallon, Helen Stack, Madeline Lenehan, Edward Crowley and George Crowley. She was the dear friend of Isabelle Tracey. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Rosemary’s family would like to thank the kind and dedicated staff at the Lahey Hospital in Burlington as well as at Life Care of Stoneham.

Funeral services will be private. Contributions can be made in Rosemary’s name to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City OK 73123 . To leave an online message of condolence please visit gatelyfh.com.