Rosa Josephine Zadra Halls
1913—2011
Rosie Halls passed away peacefully from problems incident to age in the tender care of her family on November 30, 2011, in Olathe, Colorado. She was living with her daughter Wanda and her husband Gene who lovingly cared for Rosie in the last year of her life.
Born in the old Belvedere Hotel in Ouray, Colorado, on November 12, 1913, Rosie was the first of five children born to Italian immigrants Matteo Zadra and Ottilia Marinelli. Rosie loved her parents and honored them all the days of her life. Her native tongue was Italian. She learned English over time through association with friends and neighbors.
Rosie left home and went to work at the age of twelve as a maid in the Western Hotel in Ouray. Nothing in the years to follow would break her heart more than leaving home for the first time and spending her first night away from her parents and siblings.
Rosie was educated in the old Piedmont School near Ridgway and graduated from the 6th grade in the 1920s. She went on to earn a degree in human relations gained through 98 years of interaction with the human race. Her education was not in worldly knowledge, but in the practical application of love and friendship. She considered her friendships the most precious possessions she ever owned.
She had two wonderful marriages, her first to Pierre Tristant who died prematurely from heart disease and with whom she had two daughters, Judy and Wanda; and her second to Dean Halls, a widowed Ridgway rancher with whom she had two sons, Ray and Ronnie. She also helped raise Dean's children, Linda, Lillian, and David.
Rosie worked hard throughout her life. In addition to her household duties as a mother and wife, she hauled coal, bucked bales, saddled horses, milked cows, irrigated fields, and cooked meals for dozens of miners. She would often rub her hands and comment on how rough they were when she was young. Those hands grew crooked with arthritis in later years and her doctors were amazed that she never suffered any pain from it.
Rosie was raised Catholic and became a Latter-day Saint after her marriage to Dean. But her true religion was not in theology, doctrine, ritual, or weekly attendance; it was in the practical application of God's greatest commandment to "love thy neighbor as thyself." She loved people and spread the seeds of friendship everywhere she went.
Rosie loved parties, dinners, get-togethers, and Sunday drives. But more than any other social activity, she loved her association with her friends in the Rebekah Lodge. This organization, its Christian teachings, and the wonderful women she associated with were a blessing in Rosie's life for over sixty years.
Her greatest joy in the last few years of her life was to go on a ride with her children to Ouray and Ridgway and to travel the back roads and reminisce about friends who used to live on the ranches and in the towns. She loved Ouray county, the mountains and valleys, and most of all the people.
She lived alone for over thirty years after Dean's death in 1977, first on the family ranch near Ouray and then in an apartment in Montrose. Five years ago, she moved in with her daughters, spending time alternately with them in Denver and Olathe until her death. Her daughters and their husbands have provided for her every need in her old age and have given their lives in the care of their mother.
Rosie is survived by her four children, Judy Smith, Wanda (Gene) Ashley, Ray (Doreen) Halls, and Ronald (Karyn) Halls; three step children, Linda (Harold) Gibson, Lillian Divine, and David (Roxanna) Halls; her siblings Mario Zadra and Victoria Hudson; twelve grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings Anne and Victor, her loving husbands, and her son-in-law Marvin W. Smith.
A viewing and funeral services will be held in Montrose at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1521 Hillcrest Drive, on Monday, December 5, 2011. The viewing will begin at 11:00 a.m. followed by the funeral at 12:00 o’clock noon. Interment will take place at the Cedar Hills Cemetery located halfway between Ouray and Ridgway immediately following the funeral. Rosie’s children extend a special thanks to Julie Lowther from hospice for her sweet care of their mother. We love you Mom and look forward to the day we will meet again in God's eternal worlds. Arrangements are under the direction of Crippin Funeral Home & Crematory, Montrose, Colorado.
