Here's her obituary, which sounds like it was written by Paula:
She was only ours to borrow, but how blessed we were to have qualified for such a loan. RoseAnn Schleis was 82, when heaven called that loan on Sunday, February 6, 2011, and her family returned her to the waiting arms of her loving husband, Stephen.
RoseAnn never graduated from high school, yet she was the first person people turned to when they needed advice. Whether it was a grandchild crying about being picked on by a sibling or a son or daughter with financial or marital problems, RoseAnn's comforting words and wisdom soothed all manner of ills.
She also expressed her love in the kitchen. Many were the summer days she'd stand over a pan of hot oil, funnel and palachinta batter in hand, as her family begged for repeated
servings of her ``snakes.' If she made beef stew and dumplings, the telephone lines would light up till stragglers were coming through the door, and no gathering was complete without her stuffed cabbage.
RoseAnn was an avid Facebook user, posting daily status updates, sharing songs she found on YouTube, and staying connected with relatives around the country. At the age of 80, she scoured the Internet for polymer clay designs and started making beads, leaving every friend, relative and acquaintance who crossed her path with beautiful hand-made necklaces and earrings.
She also loved music. In her younger days, she would polka with passion to her father's accordion. When her legs no longer cooperated, she found reason to sing every day. When her voice was silenced, her children sang for her. It was in the midst of the love song RoseAnn and Steve used to sing to each other that she took her last breath.
In the final days of RoseAnn's life, a grandson asked her children, ``What did she teach you?' The answers came swiftly: ``Respect, compassion and forgiveness.'
RoseAnn was born in Barberton to Balthasar and Rose Seigfried. She was an active member of the former Holy Trinity Church and made military fuel tanks at Seiberling as one of many ``Rosie the Riveters' during World War II. But most of her attention was focused at home, where she carried on a 62-year love affair with Steve and raised five children.
She is survived by those children: Susanna (Jerry) Freeman of Bath Township, Thomas Schleis of Barberton, Barbara (Dave) Yoder of Barberton, Paula Schleis of Barberton and Michael (Loretta) Schleis of Akron. She leaves 33 grand and great-grandchildren; brothers, Steve (Betty) Seigfried and Paul (Cathy) Seigfried; sisters-in-law, Clara Schleis and Rosie Seigfried; and too many admiring nieces, nephews, cousins and friends to list. She also leaves her card-playing buddies of more than 40 years: Barb, Barb, Sandy, Eleanor and Ann.
Calling hours will be noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday at Cox Funeral Home, 222 Norton Ave., Barberton, with services beginning at 2 p.m. RoseAnn and Steve used to spend hours tossing peanuts to the blue jays, crows, squirrels and chipmunks in their backyard, identifying what birds came to their feeders, and waiting for the deer to amble by. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the National Wildlife Foundation or any other wildlife organization would be welcomed.
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Tuesday, February 8, 2011, page B5, col. 2]
RoseAnn never graduated from high school, yet she was the first person people turned to when they needed advice. Whether it was a grandchild crying about being picked on by a sibling or a son or daughter with financial or marital problems, RoseAnn's comforting words and wisdom soothed all manner of ills.
She also expressed her love in the kitchen. Many were the summer days she'd stand over a pan of hot oil, funnel and palachinta batter in hand, as her family begged for repeated
servings of her ``snakes.' If she made beef stew and dumplings, the telephone lines would light up till stragglers were coming through the door, and no gathering was complete without her stuffed cabbage.RoseAnn was an avid Facebook user, posting daily status updates, sharing songs she found on YouTube, and staying connected with relatives around the country. At the age of 80, she scoured the Internet for polymer clay designs and started making beads, leaving every friend, relative and acquaintance who crossed her path with beautiful hand-made necklaces and earrings.
She also loved music. In her younger days, she would polka with passion to her father's accordion. When her legs no longer cooperated, she found reason to sing every day. When her voice was silenced, her children sang for her. It was in the midst of the love song RoseAnn and Steve used to sing to each other that she took her last breath.
In the final days of RoseAnn's life, a grandson asked her children, ``What did she teach you?' The answers came swiftly: ``Respect, compassion and forgiveness.'
RoseAnn was born in Barberton to Balthasar and Rose Seigfried. She was an active member of the former Holy Trinity Church and made military fuel tanks at Seiberling as one of many ``Rosie the Riveters' during World War II. But most of her attention was focused at home, where she carried on a 62-year love affair with Steve and raised five children.
She is survived by those children: Susanna (Jerry) Freeman of Bath Township, Thomas Schleis of Barberton, Barbara (Dave) Yoder of Barberton, Paula Schleis of Barberton and Michael (Loretta) Schleis of Akron. She leaves 33 grand and great-grandchildren; brothers, Steve (Betty) Seigfried and Paul (Cathy) Seigfried; sisters-in-law, Clara Schleis and Rosie Seigfried; and too many admiring nieces, nephews, cousins and friends to list. She also leaves her card-playing buddies of more than 40 years: Barb, Barb, Sandy, Eleanor and Ann.
Calling hours will be noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday at Cox Funeral Home, 222 Norton Ave., Barberton, with services beginning at 2 p.m. RoseAnn and Steve used to spend hours tossing peanuts to the blue jays, crows, squirrels and chipmunks in their backyard, identifying what birds came to their feeders, and waiting for the deer to amble by. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the National Wildlife Foundation or any other wildlife organization would be welcomed.
[Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Tuesday, February 8, 2011, page B5, col. 2]
Click on the headline for the obituary on Paula's father, which Paula also probably wrote.
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