Rosalie Zacharias

Life is like a puzzle. Sometimes you have to connect the dots or intertwine jigsaw pieces to see the bigger picture or search for the right words to uncover a short, but meaningful message. For Rosalie Zacharias of Swanton, her final puzzle was solved the evening of April 2, 2018. Her puzzle of life began July 2, 1932, in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Ora Rittenour and Dorothy Koester. Although adopted five years later by her stepfather Frank Lawnzak, it would be Charles Radaker, who came into her life in her teens, that Rosalie would finally have someone to call “Dad.”

The next piece of her puzzle was set on July 7, 1956, with her marriage to William Zacharias. Additional puzzle pieces were added with the birth of her three children and even more were added to make her puzzle nearly complete with the arrival of two grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

While quietly piecing together her puzzle, Rosalie was a lifelong, avid reader, especially of cat mysteries and Amish books, and dearly loved working her word searches, dot-to-dot books, and three hundred-piece Charles Wysocki jigsaw puzzles. She also loved to bowl; cross-stitch; play cards; enjoy chocolate and peanut butter sundaes; work the slots in the casino; shop; collect Fenton glass shoes; have a cold glass of tomato juice in the morning while reading the newspaper and finding out what Mary Worth was up to; listen to the Gaithers or country music; get her hair done; and lay out in the sun or sit on the porch to read.

Left to pick up Rosalie’s puzzle pieces are her children, Charles (Brenda), Susan, and Barbara; grandson, Andrew (Amanda); great-granddaughter, Addison; brother, Norman Lawnzak; and three fur grandchildren, Bootsie, Mr. Bojangles, and Sweet Pea. Besides her parents and husband, Rosalie was preceded in death by two brothers, Ora and Donald Lawnzak; grandson, Michael, who gently guided her to her next journey; and fur grandchildren, Koko and Cale.

Now that the last piece has been added to Rosalie’s puzzle, so that the pieces can be gently swept into its box to rest, her family wishes to thank those who aided in Rosalie’s life these past few years: the staff and drivers at the Fulton County Senior Center; Swanton Fire and Rescue; the anonymous donors who gave her many more years of the gift of sight; the staff, nurses, and therapists at Ohio Living; and the numerous doctors who helped extend her life, especially Dr. Stephanie Williams and Kathy, her care navigator. Per Rosalie’s wishes, services and burial will be private. Those wishing to add extra puzzle pieces to Rosalie’s life may do so at www.weigelfuneralhomes.com