Rose Kovalcheck Obituary

Rose M. Kovalcheck, a resident of Livonia, passed from this life on January 13, 2022, at the age of 92.

Rose was the beloved wife of the late Michael, and the loving mother of Donald (Mhing), Stephanie (Richard), Michael (the late Toni), and Mark (Rene). She was the cherished grandmother of Brian, Donna, Jeff, Kevin, Michael, Matthew, Andrea, Jillian, Michael, Erin, Laura, Joseph, and Alicia. She was the proud great-grandmother of 16. Rose was the dear sister of Domenic Salatino and Ralph Salatino.

Rose was born in Follansbee, West Virginia on December 16, 1929 to Domenic and Josephine Salatino. She was one of 13 children. When Rose married her beloved Michael they moved to Detroit, Michigan. She was a stay-at-home Mom until her children were older, and then went on to work as a supervisor for a janitorial company.

She took wonderful care of her husband during his fight with Alzheimer's, and it broke her heart, but not her spirit, when he passed away in 1991. Rose loved socializing with all of her friends at Silver Village. She loved playing cards with her sister and her friends, and enjoyed taking walks and shopping. She never drove but always managed to get where she needed to go.

The most important things in Rose's life were not materials things but her family. They were her treasures and their love was her greatest gift. Her favorite saying was "When you give love, you get love". And when you told her you loved her she would answer with "I love you more".

The following are shared memories written by some of her granddaughters: Jillian: She was the creator of our family traditions and led us with radiance, positivity, encouragement, and showed us to live selflessly.

Erin: She was humble. All she wanted or needed was her family. Material items were nothing to her, she only wanted us. She was our own real life Golden Girl. Always moving, socializing, and laughing. Nothing slowed her down or stopped her from having fun and connecting with people. The thing that sticks out to me the most is her unconditional pride for every single one of us. No matter how big or small, she would cheer for every single accomplishment and tell everyone with a set of ears about it. I've never met anyone who genuinely believe her entire family was perfect, but that was grandma.

Laura: Grandma Rose was the strongest, most amazing woman. My beautiful Grandmother. I look up to her so much. I learned so much from her about how to love. She loved the Lord Jesus and her family with her whole heart and everything she was. She was determined to be there for her family in every way that she could. She had the best hugs, best smile and the best heart. She was a wonderful listener and offered the best advice because she genuinely always cared so much. We took the most beautiful walks together and she always loved taking all of the kids to the park. She was always happy and always there for me and all of us. So many of my best memories and my best times have been with her there. I am so thankful to have had my Grandma for 40 years and that she was able to meet, know and love my five children and my fiancé. I will wear her pearls with pride at our wedding and I know she will be there in spirit. I will miss her so much but I'm happy that she can be in peace in heaven with my Grandpa, Aunt Carmen and all of the other family members with our Heavenly Father. I know one day we will all be together in heaven again. Until then I will carry her love with me and cherish all of our times together. Thank you for everything Grandma, I love you.

Andrea: Grandma Rose has always been a source of comfort and love, warmth and laughter in my life. She drove me crazy sometimes but in a way that made you laugh to yourself and shake your head. She loved me, I know this with absolution. She said so all the time. Every phone call ended with "you know I love you?" and then a one-upper "I love you more," after I told her I loved her. She raised my mom, and albeit I'm biased, she is THE BEST mom. She taught my mommy how to be a great mom and that alone is a beautiful legacy. Grandma Rose was so proud of her daughter. "My beautiful Stephanie, you know how much I love her? She's so good to me," she would always say. She was always beaming when she talked about her daughter. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to take her grocery shopping. We'd split up and shop, but I'd always sneak up while she was squinting intently to find the seedless sugar free blackberry jam (so hard to find). I'd say "excuse me ma'am" and she'd smack my arm when she'd realize it was me. COVID took so much from many people, but that spring it gave me the opportunity to spend some amazing afternoons with Grandma Rose. I worried the isolation would have a negative impact on her health, and me 6 months pregnant, sitting at home alone with nothing to do except watch the (bad) news needed SOMETHING to look forward to while Brian continued to go to work at the court. So we walked around the field by her house at 2pm, 6 feet apart and me yelling because she was so deaf. Or sitting on the baseball bleachers, watching the other walkers pass by and her talking to every single one of them, making sure they knew I was her granddaughter and that I was pregnant. But we mostly talked about her husband. She told stories and tried to impart lessons of motherhood and marriage that she thought would guide me in my relationship. She would talk about how excited she was to meet my little boy, and how she missed her Michael and couldn't wait to see him again. She would tell me stories of their love and relationship, things he did for her to show he cared. Her eyes would light up when she told stories of the past. I cherished those walks and I wish we would have kept up with them after I went back to work. This is a very sad time for our family because she was such an important part of all of our lives, but I take great comfort because I know she was ready to see grandpa again and I'm relieved to know my boys have an extra special guardian angel. Jacob started smiling in his sleep today, and I just know it's because Grandma Rose was singing Nini Nonni in his ear.

A Memorial Gathering will be held at St. Edith Catholic Church, 15089 Newburgh (S. of 5 Mile Rd.) on Friday, January 21, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of a Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m.

Her final resting place will be Parkview Memorial Cemetery in Livonia.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital at http://www.stjude.org or to Alzheimer's Association at http://www.alz.org.