Rose Elizabeth Abdella

Rose Abdella passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a fall on Christmas evening. Rose was 94 and in remarkably good shape. She was born in St. Paul, MN on April 23, 1920. She married George Abdella, the son of immigrants from the Middle East. Rose quickly learned the art of making their recipes, even though she was of German descent. Rose was a happy homemaker and she and George had one child. Roger was his mother’s real happiness. She doted and cared for him while George was serving our country in the US Army. Their home was on the west side of St. Paul. Rose was kind and caring, sweet and innocent. She loved God and church and volunteered in every was she could. Never learning to drive meant that Rose did some heavy walking. With Roger in tow, they made their way down those steep steps from Prescott Street to Concord for groceries and to visit family on the “lower west side.” When Rose’s mother went to the nursing home, Rose walked a couple of miles many times a week to give massages to her and to collect her wash. Rose was always Roger’s “booster club.” No matter what Roger did, she was always a supporter. Not long after George passed away, I decided, based on Roger’s words, that Rose needed to spread her wings. She needed to get out and experience all she could. She had cared for people – family and neighbors, and now was to be “her time”. I played “tour Guide” almost every weekend. We did crazy stuff and classy stuff. We put her in bumper cars and we went to the Ordway. We went to the race track and to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. We spent a week at the cabin at a resort in Siren, Wisconsin. That went so well that I began thinking about us buying a cabin to summer at. Amanda, Roger’s youngest child could enjoy fishing and swimming and could bring her friends. We began a search. Now those weekends were really busy! The goal was a cabin on a lake. One Sunday our plans were dashed due to pouring rain. I still wanted to go and Rose always wanted to go. She never had a driver’s license, so if she had anything to say about it, she’d go most anywhere. Roger preferred to stay home. She wanted to know where we were going. I really had no plan. I headed north and told Rose we’d go where the car took us. Pokegama Lake cabins were in short supply. We drove over to Cross Lake. We hadn’t gone far when we can upon two houses painted the same grey and blue colors. They appeared to be for sale as one property. My family, most of them, were in Pine City so it seemed natural to be looking there. These houses appeared to be vacant. I said, “c’mon, let’s take a look.” We walked out on the deck overlooking the lake. We peeked in the windows and liked what we saw. I joked and commented that we could sell our homes and move up here. I could hardly wait to get in the door to tell Roger what we saw. I was excited and talking a blue streak. I went to the phone and left a message that I wanted more information. The rest is history. Rose quickly adapted to small town ways and made many friends quickly. Of course, my family readily accepted and loved her. There’s always something going on. We were invited to a Christmas party at John and Olive Welch’s. I introduced Rose and John immediately mentioned the Senior Singers. She had to be coaxed a little, but she missed very few practices or performances over the years. Rose also loved her church, Our Redeemer. She joined the quilters seldom missing a Monday. If there was quilting, she was there. Rose is survived by her son Roger (Carol) Abdella of Pine City, grandchildren: Mark (Kathy) Abdella, Jeff (Kris) Abdella, Diana (Donn) Weller, Amanda (Jack) Rust; great grandchildren: Tony (Ashley) Weller, Lyndsey Weller, Delilah Abdella, Soleil Rust; great great granddaughter Johanna Weller, special extended family Chelsea, Cheyenne, Skylar and Rylee. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband George Abdella, and two sisters. Reverend Vicki VanderVegt will officiate the memorial service; 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 13th at the Swanson Funeral Chapel. A time of visitation will take place one hour prior to the service. A spring burial is planned in the Birchwood Cemetery of Pine City. Arrangements for Rose Abdella are entrusted to the Funeral and Cremation Service of Pine City, Swanson Chapel. www.funeralandcremationservice.com