It was a different world in 1926.  Calvin Coolidge was our President and a first class postage stamp cost a mere two cents.  Our nation was enjoying a period of prosperity and grand social change that would be forever known as "The Roaring Twenties."

It was into this world that Rosolia Helen Campo made her appearance on June 26, 1926 in her parents' home in Jackson, Michigan.  Rosolia was the third of ten children born to James Vincenzo Campo and his wife Mildred (Hubbard).  James was a farmer who supplemented the family income by working for the Grand Trunk Railroad.  Later in life, he would take a job with the post office.  Mildred had her hands full,  caring for her husband, the children and their home.  It was not a job that she poured her heart into; she was known to keep a rather messy house.

Rose followed her sister Maria and brother Joe into the family.  Later, they would be joined by Norman, James ("Jim"), Samuel("Sam"), Wheeler ("Red"), Carmela ("Car"), Donald Paul and Catherine ("Cathie").   The older children were given a namesake American name and a family Italian name.

James Campo may have been small in stature, but he had a big heart.  He was a tough Italian immigrant who left his native Alcomo, Sicily, as a teenager to seek a better life in America.  He was proud to be an American and he insisted that his family speak only English. The family converted from Catholicism to American Baptist.  The family converted from Catholicism to American Baptist, and their mother took the children to Sunday School to cement their Christian beliefs. The Campo household was ruled in a very "old country" fashion: Papa ruled his family with an iron fist.  It was expected that all the children would pitch  in with the chores, but they did so willingly.  The family would be considered poor by today's standards, but they maintained a large garden and no one ever went hungry.  Rose developed a lifelong love of corn and tomatoes.

The children walked nearly two miles each day to attend the little one-room country school.  Rose did not mind the walk because she loved going to school. However, one of her sharpest memories was when she was forced to suffer the indignity of having her head shaved when head lice swept through the classroom.  She also loved music.  Sledding during the winter months was one of her most cherished pastimes.

When Rose was in early adolescence, Mildred left the family abruptly with her two youngest children and placed them in an orphanage. James promptly divorced her, retrieved his missing children and brought them back to the family farm near Albion. He proceeded to do everything in his power to keep his family together.

The departure of their mother put a stress on the children, but the hardships served to strengthen the bonds between them.  It was the strength of these bonds that enabled them to face whatever life had in store for them. When Rose reached high school age, the family home burned down.  The older children, including Rose, found jobs to help the family survive.  The boys helped their father on the farm, as well as helping neighbors on their farms.  Marie and Rose found work as mothers' helpers and nannies for neighboring farm families, in exchange for room and board and a small stipend.  This enabled the girls to continue pursuing their educations and to graduate from high school.  Rose lived with the Farley family until her graduation. 

A dispute between Rose and her father resulted in an estrangement that lasted for several years.  Although Rose earned only a small salary working for the Farleys, her father expected her to donate all of it to help with the farm and the family.  Rose, on the other hand, felt that it was important to use the funds to pay for her educational expenses.  When Rose refused to acquiesce to her father's demand, James disowned her, relenting only after she bore her first son.

As a small child, Rose formed a particularly close relationship with her older sister Marie.  Because she was separated from the family while she lived with the Farleys during her high school years, Rose did not forge an especially strong bond with her little sister Carmela until they were adults.  Rose did have two very good friends when she was growing up.  Addie Kidder and Jeannie Bossard continued to keep in touch with her for years.

James rebuilt the family home after the fire, using field stones that had been gathered from their farmland.  As soon as he finished the house, he gathered his family together once more.  However, Rose graduated from Washington Gardner High School in 1944, and  she was invited to live with her grandparents, John and Nellie Pearl Hubbard, in Detroit.  There, they helped Rose secure a job as an office manager and head receptionist in the x-ray department of Henry Ford Hospital.  While holding down a job, Rose also took an extension course from Michigan State University.

Not only did her grandparents help her find employment, it was Grandfather John who introduced Rose to the love of her life.  She met Richard Meteyer in January 1946.  Love blossomed quickly during the war years and they were engaged in May.  On October 26, 1946, Dick and Rose became man and wife in a lovely ceremony at Grace Episcopal Church in Detroit.

After a honeymoon at the Summit Hotel in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (near Uniontown), the newlyweds made their first home on Cruse Street in Detroit.  Dick's Uncle Carol and Aunt Pat helped them to finance that first home.

Rose and Dick's union was blessed by the arrival of three marvelous children: Ron, Susette and Doug.  Rose always claimed that the best birthday present she ever received was Ron, who was born on her 22nd birthday.  Rose and Dick worked as a seamless parenting team, both being very loving and consistent.  The family always came first with both of them. They were there whenever one of the children needed them.  Rose was quick to urge them on whenever they stumbled or struggled with something.  It was Rose, however, who assumed the role of family enforcer.  Without being "preachy," Rose was committed to shaping her children's  values.  She insisted that they all attend Sunday school.  Both parents lived and taught by example.  According to Ron, Dick and Rose were "the absolute best parents a child could have.  We were so lucky."

Rose held her job at the hospital until the children came along.  Then, she was content to remain at home to care for her family.  She was an excellent homemaker.  Once Doug reached middle school, she took a job as a school secretary at Hilbert Junior High School.  It was a position that she assumed in the 60s and held until her retirement in 1991.

When she was not working, Rose enjoyed cooking, sewing, knitting and crocheting.  She found time to be a pre-school Sunday school teacher, school event organizer and PTA president.  When her children were in elementary school, it was Rose who became Redford Township's first crossing guard patrol.  She was always extremely organized and involved in so many projects.  Of course, her family was her first priority.  Rose was a happy woman.  She loved to laugh and enjoyed  "off-color," slightly naughty jokes, even though she was not very good at telling them.  She and Dick enjoyed ballroom dancing and they belonged to several dance clubs.  Later in life, Rose and Dick became presidents of one of their dance clubs.

When it came to favorite vacation destinations, Rose loved any place that was "not too hot."  Cruises were great and trips to Australia, Jamaica and Hawaii were most memorable.  Rose made friends wherever she went.  Undoubtedly, her favorite trips were those she took to Italy to trace her Sicilian roots and to meet her cousins.

Perhaps because of her early hardships, Rose was a strong woman, both physically and emotionally.  She was strong-willed and fiercely independent.  Sadly, once she had to relinquish her driver's license and could no longer come and go at will, she lost her feeling of purpose.  She enjoyed being at Waltonwood, but once in assisted living she sometimes felt the pain of not being able to be as useful and helpful as she once was.

Those who knew and loved Rose will always treasure her supportiveness and her tremendous love for them.  Her smile will forever warm their hearts.

Rosolia Helen Meteyer passed away on November 28, 2014.  She was 88 years old.   For 62 years, Rose had been the beloved wife of Richard.  She was the dear mother of Ron (Barb), Susette (Carl) Ingrao and R. Douglas Meteyer and the proud grandmother of  7 and great-grandmother of 15.  Rose is survived by 8 of her 9 siblings.

Family and friends may visit Saturday, December 27 from 10:00 AM until the time of the memorial service at 12:00 Noon at the Canton Chapel of the McCabe Funeral Home, 851 N. Canton Center Rd., Canton.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Gerad Meteyer Foundation at gerad.pledgepage.org or they may be mailed to 3200 Greentree Dr., Gaylord, MI 49735.