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Historical records matching Rose Rosen Fonberg
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About Rose Rosen Fonberg
Rose (Rogozinsky) Rosen was born in Olinka, a small village in the shtetl of the disputed territory between Russia and Poland. Her parents were merchants in that town. She was the oldest child, and followed her father to America in 1908 with her younger brother Peter, about a year after Morris arrived in the United States and about six months before her mother arrived with their three younger children. She was by all accounts a very attractive young lady, with dark curly hair and large ice-blue eyes. She was petite, around 5 feet tall, with an expansive bosom, a tiny waist and slender legs. After the family settled in Michigan, in or near Detroit, she met Louis Fonberg. She professed her love for him throughout her life. During the early days of their courtship, if she knew or suspected that he was in the company of another girl, she would search for him on the streets of their neighborhood. There was a significant drawback to their romance. Louis Fonberg was descended from German Jews who considered themselves to be socially prominent. For him to marry a Polish girl was considered by many to be a step down. Consequently, his parents and other relatives treated Rose and her family with condescension. They were cold to her and the children born to their marriage. But marry they did and proceeded to have four offspring, three daughters and a son. Always a hard worker, she and her mother ran retail operations in Michigan and later in Dallas. With her first husband, she prepared and sold food for workers at the automobile plants in her area. After relocating to Dallas, Texas, Rose's mother convinced her to marry Louis Smith, a bachelor who had immigrated to Texas from the Russian Pale. Citing the necessity for financial security for the widow and her children, Sarah argued that Louis Smith could provide stability for Rose. They lived out the rest of their lives together. No life is without tragedy, and Rose's life was no exception. As a young woman, she was the victim of an automobile accident that broke her back and required extensive surgical repair. This left her with a permanent limp and a fear of automobiles that prevented her from ever learning to drive. As a result of that life-threatening accident, her mother gave her a new middle name, Nadine. According to Jewish tradition, this additional name would confuse G-d enough to spare her and allow her to recover. During the Great Depression, Louis Fonberg died, leaving Rose with small children to support by herself. Her second child, May, died at the age of three. The toddler pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove on to herself and was fatally scalded. But perhaps the greatest tragedy of her life was the death of her daughter Angie. As the eldest child, Angie was more than a daughter to her. She was Rose's friend and confidante, her protector and comforter in times of trouble. When Angie died, her mother was bereft. Yet she had the strength and compassion to accept Angie's two children and to raise them as her own. This is an indication of Rose's nature. She was a loving and caring person, with a warm and generous heart. If she had a fault, it was that she worried constantly about the well-being of others, especially her children and grandchildren, to the exclusion of her own welfare. She was very intelligent, an entrepreneur who spoke and wrote both Yiddish and English. She had beautiful handwriting and loved music. She was a master gardener whose home was always surrounded by blooming plants. Among those plants were roses, especially her favorite tea roses, which bore not only her name but also the diminutive beauty she possessed. Rose died of complications associated with adult onset diabetes. She will forever be honored by her surviving children and grandchildren, the recipients of her boundless love.
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Rose Rosen Fonberg's Timeline
| 1895 |
December 18, 1895
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Olinka, Poland
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| 1920 |
1920
Age 24
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Detroit Ward 5, Wayne, Michigan
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| 1921 |
June 21, 1921
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Flint, Michigan
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| 1924 |
1924
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| 1927 |
November 9, 1927
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Pontiac, Michigan
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| 1969 |
August 21, 1969
Age 73
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Dallas, Texas, United States of America
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