Obituary of Rose Cecilia Schmitz

Rose was born August 31, 1933 in Santa Monica, California to Henrietta and Frank McEntee, the second to youngest in a family with nine girls and one boy.  The special bonds of family, especially among sisters, helped her become a person with a joy for living and a deep care for others.  Rose attended St. Monica Parish School and High School, Santa Monica City College and eventually UCLA, where she studied business.  She put her organizational aptitude to work in various jobs and eventually as a social worker in San Bernardino, CA.   Briefly married and widowed, she then enjoyed traveling, visiting family and helping care for her mother while working full time. 

The occasion of the World Exposition in Spokane WA in 1974 brought Rose to reconnect with a longtime friend of the family, Bernard Schmitz, and soon afterwards they married in January 1975.  They joyfully welcomed their daughter Paula in December.  Rose turned her energy to being a mom, actively volunteering as a field trip chaperone, as an office and library volunteer, a reader for weekend Mass as well as faithful treasurer for the St. Anthony’s altar society for many years.  She eventually became caregiver for her husband in his final years. 

Rose enjoyed visiting Paula in Puyallup, WA, especially to see the live theater productions at All Saints Parish and to enjoy the music Paula organized for parish liturgies.  She supported the arts, especially music, and various charities that all had connections to her life – from cancer to hospice.  Supporting it all was a deep faith, where sharing the love of Jesus meant offering a welcome place at the table for a meal, or in her later years, allowing others to care for her and enjoying the gift of companionship and conversation.

Rose is survived by daughter Paula Schmitz (Puyallup, WA), siblings Rita Beehler (Lacey, WA), Pauline Post (Culver City, CA) and Carole Hemphill (Anchorage, AK) and generations of nieces and nephews.  She now joins the heavenly banquet with her husband of 28 years, Bernard Schmitz, her first husband Gordon Burket, and her siblings Mary, Frank, Marjorie, Helen, Henrietta and Ann, whose families always remained close in her heart.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at All Saints Catholic Church, Puyallup WA, on June 27, 2022 at 3:00pm.  Burial will later take place at Holy Cross Cemetery, Spokane, WA.

In honor of Rose’s years as a social worker, memorials may be made to All Saints Community Services to support their efforts to help those struggling to provide basic necessities, or to your local St. Vincent de Paul Society.