Rose
Lang
March
22, 1892- July 7, 1975
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Rose Bertrand was born in New Swanzy, Michigan in
1893. She was the fifth of eight children born to
Francois Xavier and Delia Senecal Bertrand.
Rose's
seven sisters lived scattered throughout Michigan
and Canada, with some living in Montreal, some
in the Houghton area, and some in the Detroit
area. Her only brother died at age 14 when Rose
was 15 years old.
In
1921, Rose married Thomas Francis Lang at St.
Anne's Catholic Church in Laurium, Michigan. They
moved into his family's Calumet home and had 7
children: twins who died at birth, Betty, Jim,
Tom, Pat, and Kay. In the mid-1930's the family
moved to Detroit, Michigan, where Rose remained
until her death in 1975.
Rose was a homemaker all her life. She was an
expert pasty maker, learning to make the Cornish
treat during her years in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan. Rose's special talent was making
quilts. She made hundreds of quilts during her
lifetime. Even in her last years, she continued
to baste the quilts by hand and sew them on the
treadle sewing machine she had owned her entire
life.
Rose was a fun-loving woman who enjoyed life with
her husband and five children. Rose and Tom celebrated
47 years of marriage before his death in 1968.
They were avid card players and had just enjoyed
a final game of rummy the afternoon of his unexpected
death. She often told others that she had jokingingly
accused him of cheating at cards just before he
died, and that her last words had made him die
a happy man!
Rose's
house was a magnet to her children, grandchildren,
and great-grand child. The house was never quiet,
as her family celebrated every holiday and picnic
with Rose at her home. Jim and Pat Lang remained
single and continued to live with Rose until her
death. In the last years before she died, Rose
still often cooked meals for as many as 6-8 family
members who always seemed to be there at dinnertime.
One
of the saddest periods of Rose's life was the
loss of her oldest daughter, Betty, after she
died from injuries received in a car accident
in January, 1971. She had a difficult time accepting
her loss.
Rose
was the last surviving Bertrand daughter when
she died quietly in her sleep during the early
morning hours of July 6, 1975. She was 83. She
was mourned by her four remaining children, five
grandchildren and one great-grandson.
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