Rosalie Summers

Tribute Rosalie Eve (Szelag) Summers, age 80, of Longmont, Colorado, passed away peacefully, on Saturday, December 1, 2018, after a valiant fight with autoimmune disease, scleroderma. She is preceded in death by her husband, Eldridge Melvin Summers, and her son, Frederick Malvern Summers, II. Rosalie will be lovingly remembered by many, including her children, Renée Rosalie (Summers) Walton, Andrea Marie (Summers) Florentine, Eldridge Michael Summers, niece, Heidi Marie Wallace and “other son,” Shea Russell Oliver. Rosalie was a very proud Grandmother (Granny Rose) to eight grandchildren, Rosalie Nicole (Wesley) Ferrara, Erica Danielle (Wesley) Winter, Audrey Paige (Summers) Hunter, Sarah Michelle (Summers) Day, Malorie Rebecca Summers, Vincent Paul Florentine, and Cassondra Marie Florentine, and Allan Sunil Mirpuri. Additionally, she was blessed to have 11 great grandchildren with one more due around her birth date of 2019; Rosalie so wanted to spend time with each member of the brood. Paul Dominick Ferrara, Marilyn Rosalie Ferrara , Gabriel Thomas Ferrara, Adrien Daniel Ferrara, Rebekah Renee Winter, Jeremiah Wesley Winter, Juliah LaVonne Winter, Bronson Mitchell Hunter, Everly Paige Hunter, Veya Penelope Hunter, Zachary Edward Day (and Allan and Teresa Mirpuri’s daughter). Rosalie Eve Summers, was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 11, 1938. She was a latch key kid, an aspiring singer and a student at Wayne State University when she met and fell in love with Eldridge Melvin Summers. They married in October 1955, and so began a 50 year love affair. Rosalie helped Eldridge complete his accounting degree, retyping his course notes, and after all four children were born, completed her Master’s in Education at the University New Orleans. She taught kindergarten (even teaching son Michael), marched for the ERA, became a licensed realtor and ran for political office in Dodge City, Kansas. Rosalie remained passionate about her family relationships, but became active in her hidden passions of travel and art. The former took flight in 1977, when she went on a travel exchange to Guatemala with a new group called The Friendship Force. Over the following 4 decades, she founded the Kansas Club in Wichita, and participated in 30 plus exchanges out of and into the United States, including 2 trips each to China, Iran, Guatemala, and many other countries. Additionally, Rosalie began volunteering at the Gilcrease Museum, one of the foremost collections of art of the American West. She later did the same at the Wichita Art Museum. Even after her beloved Eldridge passed away, in 2005, she couldn’t and wouldn’t sit still. Rosalie moved to Colorado to start anew, staying active in the Friendship Force, the PEO and Republican Women’s groups. One last sign of her independent nature was driving herself to the doctor, the day she was admitted into the hospital. Although the last 4 months of her life were spent in care, she continued to want to take care of her family. The Memorial Ceremony for Rosalie will be at 10:00am MTN, Saturday, December 8, 2018, in Longmont, Colorado, at Carroll-Lewellen Funeral Home, 503 Terry Street. Tel. (303) 776-4477 Please do NOT order flowers. Contributions can be made in Rosalie’s name, to the Gilcrease Art Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma, or to the Wichita Art Museum Endowment Fund, Wichita, Kansas. Services Celebration of Life Saturday December 8, 2018 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Carroll-Lewellen Funeral Chapel 503 Terry Street Longmont, CO 80501