Rosemarie "Rose" Antoinette (Marcano) Olmedo

Tamarac, Florida – Rosemarie “Rose” Antoinette Marcano Olmedo entered into rest on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at age 68 after a months long valiant battle with recurring illness.

Rose lived a full life. She was born on September 29, 1956 in rural Puerto Rico to Fernando and Carmen-Marie Marcano. She was an adventurous and strong-willed child. Her earliest years were marked by climbing trees with her brothers and cooking habichuelas at her grandma’s elbow.

When she was three years old, Rose’s family made the difficult decision to send her to New York to live with her Aunt Crucita and Uncle Abraham. From then, she lived in the boroughs of New York, where her tough skin and bright spirit matched the resilience required to live there.

Through great sacrifice, Aunt Crucita – a devout Roman Catholic – paid for Rose to attend parochial school. She was a student at Most Holy Trinity Grammar School and All Saints High School in Brooklyn, NY. After high school graduation, she attended Queens College. In 1975, she married her high school sweetheart, Robert J. Olmedo.

As Rose describes it, the only thing she ever knew she was meant to be was a mother. After years of unexplained infertility and two difficult miscarriages, in 1982, Rose gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy, Robert Alexander Olmedo. In 1984, another boy, Richard Abraham Olmedo; in 1987 a girl, Rachel Ann Olmedo (Taylor); and in 1989, one more boy, Ryan Adam Olmedo. She was a committed mother and always willing to sacrifice for her children.

The young family moved to South Florida in 1992, where Rose continued to live with tenacity and gusto. She was extremely creative, a great cook, and a gifted seamstress – talents that made the Olmedo home vibrant and joyful around the holidays.

Rose worked for some time as a preschool teacher, a medical assistant, then nanny before her first stroke in 2007 prompted an early retirement. She was a cradle member of the Roman Catholic Church until 2021 when she converted to Orthodox Christianity and took the baptismal name “Ruth”. May her memory be eternal.

Rose is survived by her children and their spouses, Michelle Olmedo, wife of Richard, and Father Justin (Robert), husband of Rachel. She has seven grandchildren; Adeline, Adrian, Nora, Theodore, Nikolai, and Rafael. Rose is preceded in death by her beloved grandson, Aiden.

Rose has a dear younger sister, Yvonne Marcano; a sister-by-choice, Annmarie Patti; and several other biological siblings on the island of Puerto Rico. She and her husband divorced in 2000. In her final days, Rose was cared for diligently by her partner, Oscar Gonzales.

By the grace of God, Rose’s Funeral Service will be held on Friday, March 7, 2025 at 1:00 pm at Saints Mary and Martha Orthodox Monastery, 65 Spinner Lane Wagener, South Carolina, with the Service of Burial immediately to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials in honor of Rose be made to the building fund of Saints Mary and Martha Monastery at 65 Spinner Lane, Wagener, SC 29164, Attn: Mother Thecla.  

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rosemarie "Rose" Antoinette (Marcano) Olmedo, please visit our floral store.