In Memory of Rosina Clausen

On April 4th, 2022, Rosina Clausen passed away at home on Marco Island, Florida. She was 87 years old. She leaves behind her loving husband Bob, daughter Cathy and son Ian, as well as grandchildren Kyle, Olivia, and Roseanna.

Rose, as she was called by everyone, was born in Glasgow, Scotland June 9th, 1934, the eleventh of twelve children, to Irish parents, William Brogan Higgins and Catherine Ann McGowan. She had six sisters and five brothers. Despite the size of the family and the global scattering of her siblings, Rose remained close to them all, throughout their lives, and sadly they all preceded her in death. 

Despite moving from Glasgow to Manchester as a child, Rose never lost the soft burr or lilt in her voice from her early upbringing in Scotland, even as she attended the Hollies Convent FCJ School Roman Catholic grammar school for girls in Manchester, England. Leaving school, Rose also left England to join her brother Philip and his wife Sheilagh, in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Philip had been recruited by Shell Oil and Rose helped Philip and Sheilagh with their growing family. 

During a vacation to Barbados in the 1960s, Rose met a group of Delta Airline employees who recruited her to work as a stewardess, which was then considered a very glamorous job. She remained with Delta until she married Robert Clausen on February 27th, 1965, after meeting him in a restaurant on Milwaukee’s Marquette University campus. 

Officiating at the wedding was her brother-in-law, Rev William Clausen with two of Rose’s sisters, Jean, and Claire, also there. The wedding took place on a Saturday. By Monday, Bob and Rose were back at work. Fortunately, their marriage was not as short lived as the honeymoon, lasting 57 years. 

When Bob was called up for active army duty in May 1966, Rose joined him at Officer’s School so they could be together. Bob’s commission in March 1967 saw him assigned to the Boston Army Base, in New England. This was a happy time for Rose, made even better with the birth of their two children, Cathy and Ian, at the Naval Hospital in Chelsea. 

A new job for Bob on Wall Street saw them leave Boston for New York, a place neither he nor Rose enjoyed, so the New York stay was short. They decided to go to Venezuela where Rose’s brother Philip was now working in real estate. This became the family business. 

The now long-time home of Rose and the Clausen family, Marco Island, was first a place Rose and Bob started visiting in 1967 while they lived in Caracas. In 1983, after 10 years in Caracas, the family permanently settled on Marco Island where Rose quickly became an active member of the community, making many friends through the Children’s Schools, San Marco Catholic Church, and the Marco Island Country Club. 

Rose brought up Cathy and Ian on Marco Island and they’re now both married with children of their own. Grandmother Rose was close to her grandchildren and was part of their upbringing. As two of them grew to adulthood, she took them to England and Scotland to show them where she had spent her early years. 

The wider family of nephews and nieces, cousins, and cousins’ children, were also beneficiaries of the love and kindness Rose always gave so generously. She nursed her sisters through failing health and reached out to family members in need. She was always generous with her time and conversation; interested in everything that was going on. 

Rose was known for her razor-sharp wit, her love of animals (from dogs to parrots), while her skill at card games like buraco, can be confirmed by her friends from Venezuela, Luisa, Blanca and Nicki. With her stylish, fashionable attire, the hilarious stories delivered in her soft Scottish accent, and her devout faith, Rose was the life and soul of any room she graced. She will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her. 

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 AM on May 20, 2022 at San Marco Catholic Church, 851 San Marco Road, Marco Island, FL. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to AVOW Hospice of Naples, Florida.

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” 

J. M. Barrie