Rosemary Gloria (nee Armatis) Conzemius, 88, was not just my mother-in-law and my husband's mother. She was a professional baseball player during World War II.
"I thought everybody's mom had a 90-mile-an-hour fastball," my husband Jim said. "She taught me to play baseball. My hand burned inside the glove when she threw me the ball."
Rosemary was one of 13 children, including one adopted sister. Her father worked as a fireman for the Union Pacific Railroad in Council Bluffs.
Sometimes when Jim visited his mom at Pioneer Place in Lone Tree, toward the end she'd confuse him with her little brother. She remembered how they'd ride together in the "dummy," the caboose, of the train that took them to visit a beloved aunt and uncle. She'd speak of Aunt Dora, who lived in Grand Island, Nebraska if I remember right.
Rosemary taught herself to sew and made most of her own clothes and those of her children. When I'd visit, she'd give me some tips on my mending and hand-sewing. She made darling baby dresses and bonnets, quilts to keep us warm, and took us on a cruise down the west coast of Mexico.
I couldn't go because the ship's doctor said I was too sick to stay on the boat (I had sepsis), but I made my family go on the cruise without me. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanted them to enjoy themselves while I got better. One of my doctors at San Pedro Hospital was Jeff Reid's first cousin. Jeff's one of Jim's friends and coworkers. Small world.
Rosemary was kind to me, kind to us, and all in all, the most interesting mother-in-law I possibly could have had.
"I got my toughness from her," Jim said, trying not to cry.
Condolences can be conveyed to Lewis Funeral Home in Lone Tree, Iowa. A memorial is planned for a later date. Donations are directed toward the Council Bluffs Public Library.