Ann Marie was born May 10, 1929, in Butte, Montana, to Timothy and Nellie (Riley) Dwyer. Growing up in Butte, she enjoyed ice skating and biking as a young girl, and even started driving at the age of 12 years. She often reminisced about Saturday strolls through downtown with her mother and grandmother, where they would window shop, visit with everyone and enjoy lunch out. After graduating from Butte Girls Central High School, she attended business school in Minnesota. Throughout her lifetime, she enjoyed working as a bookkeeper for Standard Oil in Butte, Montana, Texaco in Seattle, Centralia College, Leprechaun Dairy and eventually retired from the City of Centralia.
On Aug. 18, 1962, Ann Marie married Frank (Pete) Rosa, who she had known since childhood in Butte, Montana. She joined Frank to live in Centralia, where they raised three children and enjoyed trips to Ocean Shores, picnics with friends and lived in the same home for over 50 years before moving to Seattle to be near kids and grandkids. Ann Marie’s thoughts were never far from Butte. She and Frank shared a deep love for their Irish heritage and Butte roots. They would sit at the kitchen table most nights and enjoy a drink before dinner; the conversation almost always included the many special friends, family and places they both treasured in memories of Butte.
Ann Marie’s charm was matched only by her wit, and she had a penchant for fashion. She knit and sewed beautiful garments for herself and her grandchildren, enveloping her family in warmth with her hand-knit Irish sweaters and cozy afghans. She was a “lady” in the truest sense, yet beneath that refined exterior was a great strength drawn from her Butte- Irish heritage.
Life was enriched by her cherished relationships with friends and family in Butte, and she maintained regular correspondence with her cousins in Ireland. In Centralia, she had a circle of friends too numerous to name and rarely missed Saturday morning coffee with neighbors, a testament to her strong social connections.
Ann Marie is survived by her children living in Seattle with their families, Paul (Kelly) Rosa, Catherine (Bruce) Mirkin and Margaret (Bradley) Mansker; grandchildren, Kate and Mary Rosa; Sarah, Annie and Patrick Mirkin; and Tim and Maura Mansker; brothers-in-law living in Butte, Dan (Loretta Gay) Rosa, Jim (Cathy) Rosa and Ben Pezdark.
Ann Marie was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Frank (2016); father-in-law, Mitchell Rosa; mother-in-law, Margaret Rosa; sister and brother-in-law, James and Margaret Freebourn, and sister-in-law Mildred Pezdark.
A lifelong Catholic, a funeral mass will be held in Seattle at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Nov. 3, 2023, at 4 p.m. followed by a reception. The burial will take place in Butte, Montana in spring or early summer 2024.
