Obituaries

 

Rosemary Therese Bonnar Mandli

PORTAGE/RACINE/FITCHBURG-- Rosemary “Rosie” Therese Bonnar Mandli, December 31, 1930 to January 2, 2018.

Wow!  It was an incredible ride.  I was able to have it all.  Almost 67 years of marriage to a strong handsome husband.  Ten wonderful children.  Twenty eight grandchildren and 8 great grandkids.  Family was my heaven on earth and I was blessed with an abundance of it.  My goal was to live a life of faith and plant the seeds of that faith in all those that I came in contact with.  I am thankful that I was blessed with so many friends that I considered to be my extended family and the many extended family members that were also very good friends.

My journey began on the last day of the year in 1930 in Racine, Wisconsin.  I was raised in a devout Catholic household by my mother Clementene and father, John.  My brother, John Edward, passed away as a young boy but I was given a gift from God in a little sister, Patricia (Richard Limbach), who has been my best friend to the very end.  I have had many great adventures in my life but one of the most memorable was when I became a pitcher for the Racine Junior Belles of the All American Girls Baseball League in 1948.

On a very cold day in February of 1951, I married a man among men, my forever true love, Paul Walter Mandli.  I devoted myself to him and although we started out with little, in the end, he made me a very wealthy woman. We have had an incredible family, a warm home and a life that I loved and cherished.  It was better than all of the gold in the world.  

My ten children gave me purpose and rewarded me with a love that made my journey a wonderful and incredible adventure.  When we prayed for each other it was fun to go through the names.  Mike (Jane), Pat (Lisa), Paula (Mike O’Malley), Daniel, Raymond (Tracie), Kevin (Julie), Kathleen (Merlin Ravndalen), Gerald (Karin), Sean, and Meaghan (Andy Perdue).  In our later years, the investment in our children paid off one hundred fold as they rewarded us with opportunities to savor the good things in life like travel that we were unable to afford ourselves. Those 28 wonderfully sweet grandchildren made us feel young at heart all over again and the 8 great grand babies have been a miracle to behold.  Paul and I always loved to hold the babies.

To all of my Children, my Sister, my extended family and Friends, I want to leave you with this thought. 

Each of you was a gift of love from God.  I am proud that I was able to be a part of your lives.  When we pass on from this life on earth into a new life with the Lord, fear not. 

I will be with you always.  Be Happy!  Carry On!

JMJ (Jesus, Mary and Joseph), MMFA (I love you more, most forever, Amen).  God Bless Fitz.  Go Badgers, Go Packers, Go Brewers!

Thank you to all of the wonderful caregivers at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Madison for helping me in my final days. 

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Portage, WI at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 6, 2018 with Fr. Gary Krahenbuhl presiding.  Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at the church.  Private inurnment will be held at a later date. A gathering and meal will be held after the service.
Please, In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the The National Shrine of Saint Jude, www.shrineofstjude.org, (Because we are all hopeless cases), or any other organization of your choice that offers care and compassion to others in need. 

The Pflanz Mantey Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage (www.pmmfh.com) is assisting the family.

 

 

 

Obituaries
For information please call 608 742-2126 (Portage, WI) or 608 635-2763 (Poynette, WI)