Rosemarie ‘Rosie’ Olsen, 71, died Monday, May 2 after a brief, valiant fight with cancer.

She was born in Germany. There, she met the love of her life, Ben, who served in the U.S. military. They fell in love and were married in 1957 and moved to the United States in 1962.

They lived in Livermore where she was a homemaker and her husband was a postal worker. In 1989 they decided to move to Oakdale.

Mrs. Olsen was the consummate homemaker – she loved to cook, garden and entertain the neighborhood. Her home was her pride. She enjoyed a special bond with all animals, which was an amazing thing to witness. It was a common sight to see her take her daily stroll around the court where she lived, and following closely behind in single file was her collie Moxie, her cat Taffy, and her pigeon Lulu. All the neighborhood animals were excited to see her as they knew they would get a generous amount of loving from her and she never failed having a treat for them in her pocket.

Throughout the years she was known for taking care of her friends. From simply feeding their animals or watering their plants while on vacation; and more importantly, in recent years she became caregiver for several of her elderly friends and assisted them in every way possible until their deaths. She could always be counted on to offer a helping hand. Her life touched many and she will be greatly missed.

She was also a member of the Red Hats and enjoyed many functions with them.

She is survived by her sisters, Kerin (Dave) of Virginia, Elphiede of Michigan; and goddaughter, Rosemarie (Arnd) of Germany.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ben.