Rose Marie Holgate

Rose Marie Holgate, 84, of Dalton, died Friday morning at home. Her husband was the late Clifford L. Holgate, who died in 2009. The couple had been married for 62 years.

Born in Scranton, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Pola Catherine Cheshefski Chesek. She attended North Scranton Junior High School. Early in her career, she worked as a dental assistant, later devoting her life to raising her family. She was a member of the Providence of God Lithuanian National Catholic Church in Scranton. She belonged to the Blessed Sacrament Society, the Ladies Oak Leaf Guild and was active in many other church activities. She had a passion for gardening and loved canning, cooking and traveling. She enjoyed quilting and crocheting, donating numerous handmade items as fundraisers for Christian charities. She was known for her beautiful African violets. Rose Marie was very proud of her Lithuanian heritage and spoke the language fluently.

Surviving are five sons, Mark and wife, Deege, Tunkhannock; Clifford and wife, Linda, Dalton; Daniel, Scranton; Patrick and wife, Mary Ann, Nicholson; and Matthew and wife, Diana, Factoryville; two daughters, Mary Holgate, Dalton; and Cheryl Matulevich and husband, Gary, Hop Bottom; a daughter-in-law, Christine Holgate, Justus; 23 grandchildren, Steven, Amanda, Lisa Casey, Joe, Bobby, Becky, Christopher, Eric, Sarah, Jenny, Julie, Josh, Meadow, Raven, Zach, Levi, Daisy, Heather, Morgan, Lucreza, Matthew, Salvatore and Christina Kerr; and five great-grandchildren, Emily, Shane, Brandon, Katie and Mya. She was also preceded in death by a son, Greg; a grandson, David; a granddaughter, Melissa; and two sisters, Florence Karnosky and Dorothy Chesek.

The family would like to thank Hospice of the Sacred Heart and her nurses' aides, Christina Kerr, Kimberly Smurl and Heather Hoffman Romano, for their loving care and compassion during her illness.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday at 11 a.m. from the Providence of God Lithuanian National Catholic Church, Oak Street and North Sumner Avenue, Scranton, to be celebrated by the Rev. Walter Placek, Ph.D., pastor. Interment will be in the parish cemetery, South Abington Road, Clarks Summit. Friends may call Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m., at the Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home, 418 S. State St., Clarks Summit. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105