Rosa Justina Talbott

Rosa Justina Talbott passed peacefully from this life on May 22, 2023, at Melech Hospice House in the city of Tampa, Florida at the age of 93. She is survived by her four children: Rosa Soash, Jonah (Terry) Talbott, Edna (Chuck) Sullivan, Francis Talbott and her grandchildren, Elizabeth Sullivan, Patrick (Erica) Sullivan, and Noah (Kim) Talbott. She is also survived by her sisters, Emperatriz Gaitan and Edna Robles. She is preceded in death by her husband, Charles H. Talbott Sr., her son Charles H. Talbott Jr., and her sister Teresa Molina, and brother Ramón Robles.

Rosa was born on December 31, 1929, in Panama City, Panama. Her parents were Ramón and Cesárea Ordóñez Robles (deceased). After graduation from high school, she met and married Charles H. Talbott, a U.S. soldier who was stationed in the Canal Zone. They were married in 1952 and moved to the United States in 1954. Rosa proudly became a citizen of the United States in 1958. From 1953 to 1964, the couple welcomed five children. As with all military families, they moved to different locations in the U.S. where Charles was stationed. A full-time homemaker, Rosa raised her children, often alone, while her husband was stationed overseas. She provided a loving home in which her children could grow. Throughout her life, Rosa rejoiced in her children and provided support for them in their various endeavors. She welcomed grandchildren and helped to raise them in whatever way she could. Rosa enjoyed the celebration of the various holidays, both secular and religious. These were occasions when she would cook some special foods like boliche cubano, chicken and yellow rice, plantains, and of course, sopa borracha (drunk soup)!

Her Roman Catholic faith was very important to her. She taught this to her children through her example. Each day after getting dressed, she put the coffee on, started the laundry and then sat in the quiet of the kitchen to say her morning prayers. This daily prayer informed her actions. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, she was a member of the Catholic Ladies group at the MacDill AFB chapel and was a member of their Caring & Sharing Committee. At St. Patrick’s Church, she volunteered as a greeter/usher for Sunday Masses. She was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and volunteered for Meals on Wheels. With a strong devotion to St. Francis of Assisi, she joined the Secular Franciscans and devoted many hours of volunteer work at the Franciscan Center in Tampa.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Thursday, June 8 from 5-7pm at Blount and Curry Funeral Home, 605 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 4518 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa, on June 9, at 9:30am. Inurnment of ashes will take place at Bay Pines National Cemetery, 10000 Bay Pines Boulevard North St. Petersburg, FL 33708 at 12:30pm after Mass.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Franciscan Center at 3010 N. Perry St., Tampa Fl 33603 or to the Melech Hospice House 11125 N. 52nd St., Temple Terrace Fl 33617.