Rosemary Charlotte Banish, 83 of Traverse City passed away peacefully on September 10,2024.
Rosemary is survived by her loving Husband Bill, her daughter Jennifer (Keith) Kaminski, Son Greg Banish, Granddaughter Lauren (Dillon) Mitchell, and many nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, and her brother Peter.
Rosemary immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1950 with her mother, Charlotte, brother, Peter and a small suitcase with everything they owned inside, not knowing a word of English. She and her brother quickly assimilated to the American culture and excelled in school. She became a United States citizen along with her mother on August 27, 1963 at 22 years old. Rosemary resided in Arlington, Ohio with her mother until she met her husband, Bill. They married on September 20, 1969 and built a house in Farmington Hills where they would raise their children, Greg and Jennifer and also their granddaughter, Lauren. Rosemary built a special bond with Lauren and the two of them remained close over the years. Their favorite activity together was baking chocolate chip cookies which Lauren got to do one last time with her about three weeks before her passing. Rosemary and Bill celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2019 and took the entire family on a trip to Banff Springs, Calgary. What a fun and beautiful trip that was! Rosemary and Bill were married for 54 years and would have celebrated 55 years on September 20th. They loved to travel taking many trips abroad to Germany, Italy, Egypt, England, and a special trip to Poland where Rosemary was able to visit her birthplace, Zlotystock which was once part of Germany. Rosemary’s final trip was to the Holy Land of Jerusalem, Israel with Bill and a group from St Phillip Neri.
Rosemary was an avid bowler who was in a women”s league and couples’ league for many years. She was a great bowler, often bowling 200+ games and maintaining an average in the 170s! She also enjoyed beating her husband on a regular basis! She made many friends through her bowling leagues.
Rosemary and Bill moved up to Empire in 2008 to the home on Little Glen Lake that they built in 1992. They became very involved in the St Phillip Neri parish where Rosemary would eventually earn the name of Mother Superior, courtesy of Fr. Pat and Fr. Ken. She attended daily mass for many years and made some very dear friends. She also found a dear friend in Fr. Tony, who was instrumental in increasing her faith, when he was the priest at St. Phillip Neri. She was a sacrastin, lector, and Eucharistic minister. You could often find Rosemary volunteering at church luncheons after funeral masses. She was heavily involved with making prayer blankets for those that were ill. She welcomed newcomers to the church with open arms! She loved her church community dearly!
Rosemary was also active in the Glen Arbor Women’s Club for many years and also met many great friends in this group. She also spent many years volunteering at the Glen Arbor Art Fair each summer.
One of Rosemary’s claims to fame was guessing the number of inches of snowfall in Empire one winter season! She was very proud to be named the winner and even got her picture in the local newspaper.
Rosemary’s passion for dachshunds came from her German Heritage and is unmatched. She had a dachshund before getting married to Bill and named him Schnapps Van Boden! Although she herself would never have another dachshund, she would fall in love with her granddog, Koco and pick him up every morning from Jen’s house so he wouldn’t be alone during the day! After Koco’s passing, she got to enjoy many of Keith (her favorite son-in-law) and Jen’s dachshund rescue dogs over the last six years. She had many dachshund statues, stuffed animals and dachshund pictures. If it had a dachshund on it, she bought it!
Rosemary was an amazing woman with a big heart and she will surely be missed by so many. Although the Lord has called her to heaven to reunite with her father, mother and brother, her spirit will be with us. We know that she will be a guardian angel to all who loved her!
A funeral service for Rosemary will take place on Monday, September 16, 2024 at St. Philip of Neri Catholic Church. Visitation will take place at 10am with funeral service at 11am. A luncheon will follow.
A memorial service will take place for Rosemary at Our Lady of Sorrows at 23815 Power Rd, Farmington MI 48336 on Monday September 23, 2024. Visitation will begin at 9:30am and the service will begin at 10am. A luncheon will follow.
Contributions may made out to Salvation Army Detroit at P.O. Box 44530 Detroit Michigan, 48244 and St. Philip of Neri Catholic Church at 11411 S. Lacaroe Rd, Empire Michigan 49630 Please share your cherished memoires of Rosemary with her family at www. Reynolds-Jonkhoff.com
