Mrs. Rosemary Celeste Walraven, 62, of Fernandina Beach, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, at Palm Bay Regional Hospital.
Born in Fernandina on Christmas Day in 1953, she was one of 14 children born to the late Freddie Leroy and Mary Agnes Roberts Sanders. Rosemary grew up in Fernandina, where she attended Peck and Fernandina Beach high schools. She was a majorette at Peck as well as at Fernandina Beach High School, where she was a member of the graduating Class of 1971. As a teenager growing up in coastal Northeast Florida, she spent a great deal of time with her family who lived on Cumberland Island working for the Carnegie and Ferguson families as well as working at the Amelia Island Plantation. In addition to her life in and around the salt marshes of Fernandina Beach, Rosemary also spent time with family in Jacksonville.
On Jan. 8, 1981, she married Douglas Walraven. They relocated in 1984 to Miami, where they raised their two children, Nadia and Fredrick. After moving to South Florida, Mrs. Walraven worked at Sears Roebuck and Co. and attended Miami Technical Institute, where she studied computer science. The Walraven family later moved to Palm Bay, where she worked for the Census Bureau. In 1989, she joined the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Office, where she remained until retiring this year as the deputy clerk.
Rosemary was an avid Florida State Seminoles fan and enjoyed sewing, sharing her crochet skills, and family gatherings and reunions back home in Fernandina Beach. Somewhere along her travels, she acquired a much sought-after recipe for seafood gumbo and tartar sauce, with which she treated the Melbourne Police Department at its annual Christmas parties.
As a child, she and her family attended St. Michael Catholic Church. Since moving to Palm Bay, she and Mr. Walraven have been members at Calvary Chapel.
She leaves behind her husband of 35 years, Douglas Walraven; their daughter, Nadia Walraven; and their son, Fredrick Douglas Walraven, all of Palm Bay; her siblings, Barbara Glover and her husband, Earley, of Titusville, Grace Way and her husband, James, of Fernandina Beach, Pearl Sanders of Fernandina Beach, Pamela Sanders and her husband, Thomas, of Palatka, Thomas Sanders and his wife, Sandra, of Fernandina Beach, Oscar Sanders of Fort Lauderdale, and Johnny Cotman of Ocala; her grandchildren, Merissa Celeste Campbell, Mekayla Celeste Campbell, Frederick Douglas Walraven, Sedrick Walraven, Xavier Walraven, Trinity Walraven, Joseph Walraven, Azalea Walraven, Jordan Douglas Walraven and Messiah Walraven; and a host of nieces and nephews.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, at St. Michael Catholic Church with the Rev. Father Jose Kallukalam, celebrant.
Mrs. Walraven will be laid to rest in Bosque Bello Cemetery.
The repast will follow at St. Michael Parish Hall.
Her family will receive friends on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 5-8 p.m. in the Burgess Chapel of Oxley-Heard, where the vigil service will be held at 6 p.m. with Deacon Art Treadwell officiating.
Please share her Life Legacy and leave your memories and condolences at www.oxleyheard.com.
Oxley-Heard Funeral Directors