Rosemary Lacey Jewell's Obituary
Our Mom passed away November 29th after a short illness. We will miss her forever.
Rosemary Jewell was born Rosemary Lacey to Dollie Morey and Russell Elijah Lacey in Decatur, Illinois on June 14th, 1933. She attended Decatur High School and Millikin University where she met Ronald E. Jewell Sr. In September 1954 they were married.
From Decatur, Illinois to Santa Monica, California to Southampton, England, Ron and Rosemary settled in Huntsville, Alabama where he joined the NASA team working on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs, and she worked as a medical technologist, serving at the University of Alabama at Huntsville laboratories and The Huntsville Clinic.
Along with her daughter – Rene Jewell Kurzius of Jacksonville, Florida, and husband Lawrence Erik Kurzius – she raised thoroughbred horses, hunter-jumper ponies, and cared for many more. She also helped shape the young careers of her granddaughters Lacey Jewell Kurzius (national competitive ice skating) in Huntsville and Newark, Delaware, and her granddaughter Larkin Morey Kurzius (national hunter-jumper equestrian) in Ocala, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Rosemary is also survived by her son, Ronald E. Jewell Jr, of Huntsville, Alabama, his wife Anne Cox Jewell, and three more grandchildren – Ronald Cameron Jewell, Charles Hudson Jewell, and Caroline Lamar Jewell – where she enriched their lives with her guidance, artistic creativity, and her generosity.
Rosemary loved quilting, creative sewing and embroidery, playing bridge, golf, and even poker, especially on those many nights spent at Lake Guntersville, Alabama with family and friends.
She also returned frequently to Decatur, Illinois for family reunions and holidays to enjoy with our large, extended family.
She was always encouraging her children to find and focus on the positive aspects of our lives, and never give up. If things aren’t going exactly as you had hoped, she would always offer this guarantee “just remember, it will get better”. And it always did. Just like she said.
Graveside services to celebrate the life of Rosemary Jewell will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, December 3, at Fairlawn Cemetery in Decatur. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made to the National Diabetes Association at diabetes.org
The family of Rosemary Jewell is being served by Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home, 2091 N. Oakland Avenue, Decatur, IL. View the on line obituary and send condolences to the family at www.gracelandfairlawn.com.
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