Rosie passed away peacefully today, Thursday May 10th, at 7pm. I was with her at the moment her heart stopped beating, and she looked very tranquil and wasn't in any pain.
While Rosie had been sleeping for most of the past days, she would at times wake and let us know she was ok. She was well accompanied night and day for the past week. During the day, though she slept, we spoke to her and played some of the music she liked.
Thank you, on behalf of Rosie, for all the lovely messages you posted here as well as sent by email. I haven't been able to respond yet to all of them, but did convey them to Rosie. Please do feel free to continue sharing messages and anecdotes.
Aleyn
"Though nothing can bring back the hour
ReplyDeleteOf splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind"
W. Wordsworth. Intimations of inmortality
Un abrazo enorme, querido Aleyn, y gracias, muchas gracias, por ser la preciosa persona que eres.
Isa
"Es wird Stille sein und Leere.
ReplyDeleteEs wird Trauer sein und Schmerz.
Es wird dankbare Erinnerung sein,
die wie ein heller Stern die Nacht erleuchtet,
bis weit hinein in den Morgen."
Des pensées pour toi, Aleyn, et toute ta famille. Quelle chance d'avoir pu accompagner Rosie et d'avoir été à ses côtés. Elle et son rire, son sourire, sa gentillesse, sa générosité vont nous manquer terriblement.
Elisabeth
I have lost my dear friend and I know that nothing can bring her back.
ReplyDeleteBut at the same time no one can take away the happy memories of all the time we spent together, all the silly things we used to laugh about and all the serious things we used to talk about. Rosie I shall miss you but whenever I think about you, it will bring a smile to my face because you were that kind of person, always radiating cheer wherever you were. Rest in peace my dear friend.
Aleyn my thoughts are with you and with Rosie's family in Lima. Be strong and stand tall, that is what Rosie would want.
Nilofer
Amiguita linda, bella, hermosa, por fuera y por dentro. Eterna sonrisa, protagonista sin quererlo, encantadoramente torpe, ordenadamente caótica, dulcemente tierna, risa nerviosa, risa descontrolada, risa contagiosa, risas por los pasillos, confidencias en los descansos. ¡Cuánto te echo de menos, Rosita! Me siento afortunada de haberte conocido, de haber compartido tantas vivencias contigo, del cariño que me has dado, de todo lo que he aprendido de ti. ¡Tu recuerdo siempre estará conmigo! Te quiero, amiguita linda.
ReplyDeleteSonia
Querido Aleyn,
ReplyDeleteSiento mucho la partida de Rosita, su alegria y tantas ensegnanzas que siempre transmitio, la recordare mucho, su increible alegria y mensajes de cariniosos que daba siempre. Mucha fuerza y energia te mando y te acompagno mucho esperando poder acompagnarte en los proximos dias. Yo si estoy en Ginebra, y muy pendiente de verte en el momento necesario. Un abrazo muy fuerte. Maria Elvira Briceno
Dear Rosie,
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first met you. I had not been in Geneva long and had just taken over as Andrew’s vice principal. He was struggling with a problem in finding a package of subjects for a new student. The subjects the student wanted didn’t fit the constraints of the timetable and few teachers were prepared to show any flexibility in trying to fit the student in. He charged into the office I shared with Michel Hugon, a broad grin on his face, the albatross arms spread wide announcing “Rosie Smith Gillespie – she makes everything possible”. It seemed you had found a way to get the child (I can’t even remember if it was a boy or girl) to be able to do Spanish and so everything else fitted. I think your solution involved you seeing her or him in the lunch hours and after school, as you so often did for so many students. The remarkable thing was not that you put the extra time in, but that you did it with so much joy and excitement, as though it were a privilege to be able to. “Yes, yes .... no, this will be wonderful, we can do this” was your comment when I checked up on Andrew’s story. If any other readers can imagine that being said in Rosie’s accent with that slightly breathless excitement the mock serious face and the wonderful smile, you will get the picture.
Of course the school stories about you are all wonderful, whether they were true or not. Is it really right that you used Tippex on the computer screen to correct a mistake you had made using Microsoft Word? Irene and Elena swore you did, and when I asked you the three of you just collapsed into laughter. Laughter was always the currency in the Spanish office at that time. I know it was called the Languages Office, but we all knew what language the laughter was in.
You were a wonderful friend to all our family, instantly loved by Helen, Tom and Nick. We have had so many wonderful meals and discussions at your house and ours, talking late into the night. When the boys were young, and rightly suspicious of teachers, your joy, honesty and occasional venture into lunacy won them over immediately. Who would think of secretly smuggling Galileo into school and then telling the Principal’s sons to keep the secret, knowing full well it would be the most exciting event of the week, and the first thing they would tell us when they got home. You are probably a good part of the reason Nick has decided to become a teacher.
We have never known such a positive person who radiated such joy, love and humour, that infected everyone around you. The courage you showed when times were difficult is an inspiration to us all. We miss you and will never forget you.
All our love,
Chris and Helen
Aleyn, we are thinking of you and send you our love and our condolences.