Rosita Rivera Garcia

Rosita Rivera Garcia, “Lola Rosie,” passed away peacefully at the young age of 86 years old on August 27, 2021. She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren as she took her last breath. Lola Rosie was born in Manila, Philippines on April 12, 1935 to Emilio Rivera and Saturnina Rivera. She was the oldest of six siblings: Ruben, Alfredo, Romeo, Jaime, and Cora. Rosie learned to care for her siblings and cook for her family at the age of 5 years old. This is probably the reason why she was such a phenomenal cook and her pancit, mechado, kare-kare, and adobo is second to none. She met the love of her life, Laureano Ignacio Garcia, and they married on March 6, 1956. They traveled the world as her husband fulfilled his career in the United States Navy. Together, they had three beautiful children: Lysander (Elizabeth) Garcia, Amy (Brian) Keith, and Cynthia (Jared) Mathison. Rosie branched out from her role as a stay at home mom and worked for Abbott Laboratories for two decades. She retired in 1992. Then…she came out of retirement (like her favorite player, Michael Jordan) and worked for CTCA Hospital in the cafeteria for another decade. She made so many friends wherever she went—whenever she had the chance, she would invite them to come listen to bible studies at the Iglesia Ni Cristo aka Church of Christ. Rosie was a deaconess for the local congregation of Great Lakes. She was always known to bring her signature dishes to the church potlucks. Rosie was also an avid sports fan of Chicago teams: Cubs, Bulls, and Bears (in that order). Lola Rosie was known as “Lola” to many. She is survived by her grandchildren: Shannon (Edward) Sarmiento, Ashley Crittenden, Lauren Peters, Oliver (Joanna) Garcia. Rosie’s great grandchildren--Ethan, Evan, Ava, Eliza, and Landen will always remember their Lola as the one who will sneak chocolate out of her purse (no matter what time of the day) just to give them a treat. In the words of Lola Rosie, “I’ve lived a good life.”