RoseMarie Dunaway

Rose Dunaway “dreamed her way to Heaven” on March 30th, 2018, under the gentle care of Hospice, with her family present and in communion from state to state. Born on April 6th, 1933 in San Diego to George and Marie Tobin Dittmer, she attended Rosary High School, thought to enter the convent, and then met John Raifsnider. They married on May 19th, 1951, had seven children before the sadness of divorce in 1963. She raised her family with the help of her parents in the mountain hamlet of La Cresta. RoseMarie found work with the San Diego Union Tribune, writing a humorous column on the day to day trials of motherhood, later worked as a preschool aide, attended night classes at San Diego State College in Early Childhood Education, and became a teacher at Roanoak preschool for under-privileged children, sometimes bringing them home when life went amiss for them. She managed to take her children camping in the deserts, mountains, and beaches of Southern California, and to Rosarita beach in Mexico with her brother’s families. In 1973, after her parents passed away, she moved with her youngest daughter to Molalla, Oregon, volunteered and enjoyed the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She moved to Gold Hill, Oregon, joining her son in the back to the land days. In 1984, she settled in Yreka near her daughters and grandchildren, working for the Karuk Indian Association, later working as a teacher’s aide at Gold Street Elementary School and, after retiring, she mentored children in their studies. She met Arch Dunaway and was married for a year and a half before his passing. Wise and witty, fiercely committed to conversation, she counseled her family and others, sometimes using words we didn’t know existed, sharing “the correct meaning”. Raised Catholic, she opened herself to many ways of seeking over her lifetime. She returned to Christianity, praying every night, name by name, for her family and dearest friends. Perhaps Mom said it best when she wrote this when she was a young mother at thirty: “I have been living in this world for thirty years, renting the air around my being, not in man produced currency, but rather a divine created pittance. That exchange between mortals and deity has been a spiritual toll, not a mental or physical, for they sometimes are gravely lacking in a human shell, but with a constant spirit communion, the spark that links man to God.” In her prayers: Her parents, George and Marie; her brothers, Wes and Dick Dittmer, now passed; her baby brother John who died at birth; her children and spouses, John and Barbara Raifsnider of San Diego, now New Mexico, Yvonne and David Noell of King City, Oregon, Rita and Ed Chambers of Yreka, Steven and Patty Raifsnider of Littleton, Colorado, Rhonda and Etienne Pere of Yreka, Elaine and Larry Andrews of Tallmadge, Ohio, Karen and Bill Banks of Parker, Arizona; eleven grandchildren and spouses, Arend and Iryna Raifsnider of Washington, Calixte and Benjamin of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Celeste Noell and Ryan of Portland, Oregon, Rachel Raifsnider and Adam Raifsnider, brother and sister, of Littleton, Colorado, Frank and Melanie Andrews, brother and sister, of Tallmadge, Adrienne Pere and Colton Griffin of Yreka, Madeline Pere and Kyle Morris of Yreka, Elise Pere and J.R. of Yreka, Nick and Hanna Pere of Medford, Oregon, her first great grandbabies, Baylor Colton Griffin and Leita Kathryn Morris, now 16 months old, and to great grandson, Devon Griffin of Yreka. To her prayer list she included her devoted caregiver, and friend, Christine Whyte, of Yreka and her daughters, Whitney and Bethany. She was your “Grammy”. Last but not least, Willard Edwards, her Mother’s Cousin, our Great Uncle, an ever present inspiration to her and to “The Seven”, Senate Reporter for the Chicago Tribune in Washington D.C. in the days of FDR to Vietnam; his devotion, letters airmailed across the country, encouraging her to pursue her writing, her education, to be courageous, the reassurance she was deserving of all that life had to give, and what she had to give to life and to others. We thank Adrienne, Madeline, Elise and Whitney for standing vigil in Hospice, carrying forward the “Family Heart”. Baylor and Leita brought us all joy. They will be GeeGee’s legacy. We are indebted to Christine for years of Love and care, and friendship with Rose. You rock and you are beautiful. And to John… Wow. She knew. We thank her longstanding Medical Caregiver Catey Olivolo, FNP, her nurse Nicole and office staff, and to her original caregiver Sally Cheney. Words cannot express, except to tell you Mom loved you. You’ve been her earth angels. We thank Hospice, Mom’s nurses, Nellie, Lynn, Lynelle, and Laurie, David, Pamela, all of the round the clock staff coming and going, as if you too never slept. You were our sanctuary, foundation and guides. We are so grateful. No immediate services are planned. We ask that donations go to Madrone Hospice in Yreka. Mom loved doggies and kitties. On Roses behalf, we also ask that you care for them, spay and neuter and give them loving homes. Rose would ask you to remember your own “constant spirit communion” sometime in your day.

RoseMarie Dunaway

April 6, 1933 - March 30, 2018