Eulogy

Rosalie Janette Gardiner – 25/6/1946 – 22/6/2016

 

 

Rosalie Janette Gardiner was born Rosalie Daly on the 25th June 1946, at Camden Hospital and was the second born daughter of Nancye and Reginald Daly.   She had one other sister, Jeanne, and grew up in Campbelltown.   She was also known as Rosie, Rose, Mum and Nan by her close family and friends.

 

As a young girl, she spent weekends and holidays at her grandfather’s farm exploring the farm, milking cows, but especially enjoyed riding horses.   Her first dog, as a girl, was a Border Collie named Rocky, given to her by her Aunty Nell, who bred and showed them.    Her love of animals was evident from a young age.

 

She went to the Public and High School at Campbelltown.   She played hockey, enjoyed ballroom dancing and liked reading and history.   Impressively she topped the class in French at school.   She was very hard working and would always be exceptionally organised, taking great effort to make sure things were done right.

 

Rosalie left school when she was 16 and found a job working for the NRMA.   She did very well there and earned a decent wage for the time.   She would travel everyday into the city from Campbelltown on the train and this is where she met Terry who also travelled into the city while working at the Post Master General.

 

After a while, they eventually got married at the age of 20, at St. Peters Church in Campbelltown.   As newlyweds they worked hard to buy their first house in Valley Road, Campbelltown.

 

From here, they both decided that they wanted to take the risk of going into a small business.  They saw this as a way to be able to work hard in order to benefit from having enough money for a secure future and set off to Queanbeyan, where they bought a Milk Run and later had a Bread Run as well.   She also got her Drivers Licence there, after learning to drive in the milk truck, which served her well, for when she gave birth to their first child Shane, she went into labour and, in the typical determined fashion that we know her by, just drove herself to hospital.

 

They both did well with their first small business and then moved to Glen Innes, where they bought a General Store.   It was here that Rosalie started riding horses again and loved being involved in dressage, entering many Regional Shows and knowing that she was good at organising, began organising other horse events at local shows.   They also had their first dog together as a family, a German Shepherd.   Their second son Scott was also born here.

 

Looking to other businesses, they then moved to Quirindi, where they bought another Milk Run.   It was here that in her spare time, Rosalie started off with her love of going to dog shows, with her first Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Pokey, who she got from a friend in Gunnedah, who also had horses.   She started doing well with dog shows and exhibited under the prefix “Teroga”, for those who don’t know comes from the first two letters of Terry, Rose and Gardiner.   Rosalie became involved in organising dog shows and eventually organised an all-breeds dog show for Quirindi.

 

There were also the usual things that go along with raising children.   Helping with homework, taking the kids to school, cricket, tennis, soccer and basketball, and then taking the kids to the dog shows all over the countryside.

 

After Quirindi, they moved onto a new business venture and bought their first Newsagency in Redbank Plains, between Brisbane and Ipswich.   After a few years, moved again to Wauchope with their second Newsagency and then decided to retire back to Tamworth which is where Rosalie had loved living in the country and felt at home.

 

Their first attempt at retirement was short-lived and they went back into business buying another Newsagency, which is now the Country Capital Newsagency in Peel Street, and eventually retired in 2007.

 

Mum loved to travel.   She had always dreamt of going around the world, since her love of history at school.   It started off with trips in Australia, then New Zealand, and when Shane went to America on a tennis trip, the rest of the family went to America as well.

 

After a while, Terry and Rosalie would then set off together on numerous adventures around the world: United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Canada, Alaska, Singapore to name a few.   Each time they would come back, Rosalie would have a meticulously organised photo album, each picture labelled with where they had been, which she then showed family and friends, telling the story of what had happened in each location.   Usually after the completion of showing everyone where they had been, it usually ended in where they were going next. Perhaps some of her fondest travels were the adventures, and sometimes misadventures, she shared with Terry, Trevor and Fran.

 

Even after Terry had become unwell, there was no stopping Rosalie planning their next adventure.   They started going on other trips, especially cruises.   When back in Tamworth, she liked volunteering at the Visitor Information Centre where she could share her love of Tamworth to people who came in.   Even when she was unwell herself, every day she felt up to it, was a trip out somewhere around the country she loved so much.

 

She was also very interested in her family history and became a member of the Fellowship of First Fleeters, after finding out her ancestry to a Marine on the First Fleet.   Rose enjoyed researching her history with her sister Jeanne and together they learnt a lot about our family history.

 

Her other great love was her dogs.   She had many favourite dogs over the years, but her last dog Maddie, who loved going to the shows more than anyone, was perhaps her most cherished.   Rose was known for showing exceptional dogs and made many great friends through this activity.

 

Rosalie will be remembered as a dedicated loving wife to Terry, mother to Scott and Shane, Grandmother to Freya, Isla and Brock and friend to many.   Her ability to work hard and her courageous tenacity to keep on going regardless of how big an obstacle ahead, is a true inspiration to others.   Her love of life and achievements are truly remarkable and most importantly her love of those dear to her heart (and all her Cavs) was the most important to her.   We will miss you, but know that you will live forever in our hearts.

 

 

Written by Scott Gardiner (Rose’s son)