Rosaline June Lewis "Rose" (2 Mar 1933 - 2 Mar 2021)

In loving memory of Rosaline June Lewis, lovingly known as Rose, who sadly passed away on the 2nd of March 2021, aged 88 years.

Rose was born in Ramsgate in 1933. The eldest of four children, she always loved and cherished her sister, Doreen and her two younger brothers, Charlie and John. Her Father, originally from Durham, was a coal miner and a strong Trade Union man. In the eternal search for work, when Rose was 4 years old, her Father moved the family, which at that time was Rose and her brother, Charlie, to Coventry. Rose was unwell and could not settle there. She returned to Ramsgate to live with her Grandparents in their boarding house, walking down to the harbour where her fishermen Grandfather and Uncles were selling their catch.

With the start of the Second World War in 1939, the family returned to Ramsgate and Rose was reunited with her parents, her brother, Charlie and her new baby sister, Doreen.
The beach at Ramsgate changed significantly as rolls of barbed wire were part of the coastal defences and as a young child, Rose could not understand why she was no longer allowed to walk along the beach.
Young Rose, enjoying a bag of peanuts one day as she walked with her Grandfather across Madeira Gardens, was startled as the wailing air raid signal interrupted their conversation. Her Grandfather stuffed the peanuts into his pocket, grasped her hand tightly and they ran together to the Ramsgate tunnels, now a visitor attraction, where subterranean tunnels stretched far into the rock.
The family were moved to Aylesham during the War as their home was needed for the war effort. Rose’s job was to look after the rabbits in the hutches in the back garden. When she found out that these rabbits were making their daily meals, she became a vegetarian, which she continued until adulthood.
Although a wartime education was a privilege rather than a right, Rose became an avid reader, (something that continued until she could no longer retain the words at the very end of her life), and would lock herself in the outside toilet to escape her brothers and sister, immersing herself in the stories of someone else’s imagination. She enjoyed education and secured a place at Grammar School, passing her 11 plus, but sadly, the family finances would not stretch to the uniform and she was unable to go.
At the end of the war, the family returned to Ramsgate and Rose felt settled and happy in her beloved seaside town.
At the age of fourteen, Rose started work in the Co-Op on the cheese and bacon counter. Rose’s cheery disposition and respectful approach made her a favourite with the customers.
Rose loved to dance, and would save her money to dance the night away to the big bands of the time. The band stand on Ramsgate front is a place of many happy memories for Rose as she danced with her friends throughout the summer months.
In 1948, she found herself fighting off the interests of a Londoner in an airman’s uniform. He would not be denied though, and after asking her to just give him a chance, she found herself falling in love with the man who would eventually become her husband. Fred wrote many letters and poems of love - which Rose kept throughout her life - as he did his National Service at Manston and then at Waterbeech. Whilst on leave and returning home to his native Catford, Fred would cycle to Ramsgate to visit Rose, and take her dancing. Finally, Rose left Ramsgate to live with Fred and his parents in Catford. The Manager of the Co-Op organised a job for Rose in the Co-Op in Lewisham and a new chapter, away from the sea breeze, cliff top dances and ice-cream on the beach began.
Rose and Fred were married in 1952, her parents, Archie and Ethel , and younger brother John attended; there was not the money to buy an outfit for Charlie and Doreen therefore they stayed in Ramsgate . Fred and Rose continued to live with Fred’s parents until they managed to gather enough money to rent 2 furnished rooms in Slaithwaite Road in Lewisham. In the same house, also renting rooms were Peter and Pauline. Peter and Fred had been friends since the age of seven, Rose and Pauline also hit it off straight away and nurtured and enjoyed a friendship rooted in fun and freedom that carried them through the unavoidable years of adversity experienced in adulthood. This friendship remained as firm as it had always been until the very end. Sadly, during her time in Lewisham, Rose contracted Tuberculosis and was seriously ill for a long period. She was moved to Bevendean, formerly known as the
Brighton Borough Sanatorium and Infectious Diseases Hospital. Once again, Rose’s resilience supported her through a very difficult period of her life. Eventually, Rose was allowed home to Lewisham.
Fred and Rose remained in Slaithwaite Road for a number of years and Rose started work at the Emerald Engraving factory in Lee Green where she was in charge of dispatch. Fred and Rose were offered a Council flat in Forest Hill which they took.
Meanwhile, their friends Pauline and Peter moved to Higham and in 1966, with the advent of Building Societies offering mortgages to building trade workers, Rose and Fred placed a deposit on a house in Highwoods Close, off plan, borrowing the money from Pauline who emptied her jars, purses and pockets to scrape together the money.
Rose enjoyed her years in Higham and in 1970, after giving up all hope of having a child of her own, Rose discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter in the worst winter known for a long time and immediately gave up work to be a Mother, the job she had longed for.
Throwing herself in typical Rose fashion into everything wholeheartedly, Rose joined social groups and made firm friends in the village and particularly in the cul-de-sac where she lived. She made a huge contribution to village life through becoming a Brownie Guider and then a Guide Guider. Even when she became ill with breast cancer; she treated this as a momentary inconvenience and as she recovered, she returned to village life, helping at church, Age Concern and joining the new library. Rose was a very special lady; a natural Mother, many children enjoyed her company as she welcomed everyone into her home and her heart.
Always very aware that she was, at the time, considered an “older Mother”, she never expected to receive the joy of grandchildren. In 1996 and 2000 she was proven wrong as Hannah and Eleanor entered her life. Once again, throwing herself into her new role she adorned them with the kind of love only a Grandmother can give.
Such an amazing lady, from very humble roots with many challenges woven into her personal journey, Rose continued to contribute to all those around her a positive energy of compassion, glamour and vibrancy.
She will be greatly missed by her family and all those fortunate enough to have known her.

Floral tributes may be sent to Lewis Solomon Funeral Service by 11am on Monday 19th April 2021.

Alternatively, donations for "Breast Cancer Now" or "Dementia UK" may be sent in memory of Rose by cheque made payable to the charity c/o Lewis Solomon Funeral Service, or on-line via this page.