Rosemary Melton Consani passed away on Thursday, August 6, 2020, after a ten-year fight against myelodysplastic syndrome and a lifelong pursuit of good times and good food. That is not to say that she gave up or lost her fight—she refused to give in to the cancer that slowly killed her. She was 69 years old.
She was recently preceded in death by her partner John Beeson, and their favorite child, Tonka, who despite his short legs and tail managed to be a part of everything they did.
Born in Tulare, CA on September 11, 1950, Rosemary was also preceded in death by her parents Cora and William Melton, foster parents Dave and Delpha Ingram, and her brothers, Stephen, Richard, Delbert, Elden, Everett, Ward, Floyd and Loyal Melton; and three sisters, Dorothy Best, Juanita Lamance, and Tammy Ingram.
Rosemary is survived by her siblings Robert (Kathy) Melton of Goodman, MO; Ruby (Jim) Schlichting, of Stella, MO; and Vickie (David) Howe of Coffeyville, KS. Her children Tracy (Bill) Consani Saunders of Pooler, GA; and Jason (Paige) Consani of North Topsail Beach, NC; John’s children, Lesa Ann (Jerry) Hart of Cornstalk, WV, John A. (Cynthia) Beeson of Hico, WV and Susan Jo (Michael) Pollard of Granger, IN.
She is also survived by her grandchildren, Sabrina Noble, Brittany Saunders, Stephanie Saunders, Emoni Saunders, Eniyha Saunders, Corey Saunders, Spencer Consani, Cristiano Consani, Hannah Beeson, Ryan Hurley, and Jordan Pridemore. She is also survived by her ten great-grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Rosemary was a 1968 graduate of Field Kindley Memorial High School in Coffeyville, KS and in 1984, was the first member of her family to earn a college degree, an Associate’s degree from Edison State Community College in Piqua, OH.
While she was proud of her accomplishments, and her reputation as the strictest mom in Tipp City, OH, she still managed to help her children toilet paper the police station and completely overdid every Christmas of her adult life. Depending on when you knew her, you may have known about the drag racing, the snow mobile flipping, the dart throwing, or the dancing with mylar balloons.
In her lifetime, she managed offices and construction sites, started her own business, and worked as an accountant, a painter, and as an occasional pool shark. If you ever got to try her cheesecake, well, that was proof that you were loved. She taught herself to crochet, cross-stitch, embroider and sew, and made all her children and grandchildren a personalized Christmas stockings. Her first and second crochet projects won ribbons at the Miami County Fair in Troy, OH, including best of show.
For the past twenty plus years, she worked side by side with John to keep Paradise Lake Marina, in beautiful downtown Carp Lake, up and running, renting boats, selling bait and licenses, and helping people have fun on the lake.
She loved birds, yellow roses, anything purple, Walker Texas Ranger, and QVCs David Venable. If you were hungry, she fed you, and if you needed a friend, she’d be an ear or a shoulder or even back up if you needed it. She loved the water, boating, and fishing, but couldn’t swim; and her deep abiding love for yard sales and thrift stores is evident in all the boxes we’ve been moving around.
In the last years of her life, she started working on a cookbook that she wanted to leave behind for her family. At last count, her cookbook exceeded 80,000 pages and has very few avocados. She hated them and didn’t want her cookbook to be tainted by their presence.
If you want to honor her memory, wear a sassy hat with a fancy pin on it, learn to make noodles and pie crust from scratch, and sing out loud as often as you can. And if you really loved her, when you say goodbye to someone, you’ll always tell them to “ride with the Angels.”
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to one of the following organizations:
McLaren Hospice Chaplain’s Program
761 Lafayette Cheboygan, MI 49721
The MDS Foundation
4573 South Broad St., Suite 150
Yardville, NJ 08620
To share a memory or leave a message of condolence, please visit www.fordwulfbrunschapel.com
