Our Sweet Rosemary

First and foremost, thank you. Our family has been shown such unwavering love and support not only in the last few days but over the course of our struggle with Rosemary’s ALS diagnosis and we appreciate it more than we can say. Truly, thank you.

Secondly, below are the details regarding Rosemary’s celebration. If you’re in Muskegon on Friday, you’re welcome to join us in celebrating the life of our sweet Rosemary.

Rosemary Lambert, age 59, passed away on Saturday morning, August 22, 2015, at her home on Muskegon Lake surrounded by her family. She was born on July 22, 1956 in Muskegon, Michigan to Floyd and Rose Marie (Kraus) Beckman. On November 24, 1978 she married Mark Lambert who survives her. She attended college at Central Michigan University and then went on to work in marketing at Transnation Title for 27 years, retiring in 2010. Rosemary loved Broadway musicals, candlelit dinners with her loved ones, hiking in Muskegon State Park, Lake Michigan sunsets and photography. Following her ALS diagnosis Rosemary started rosemarylambert.com, a blog on which she shared stories about her life, photos she’d taken and honest and raw words about faith and dying. In addition to Mark, her husband of 36 years, Rosemary is survived by her children, Chad Lambert of Dallas, TX, Kelly (Christopher) Ufnal of Muskegon, Corey Lambert of San Francisco, CA, and Bryan Lambert of Muskegon; 3 grandchildren, Cole and Peyton Lambert, and Harrison Ufnal; 1 brother, Jim (Janet) Beckman; 5 sisters, Judy (Gordon) Grimm, Joan Roberts, Deb (Steve) Neinas, Vikke (Bob) Longcore, and Mary (Jim Bozell) Carlson; and many nieces and nephews. Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Jean Morris; and brother, Mick Beckman. THE MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, August 28, 2015 at Prince of Peace Catholic Church (1100 Dykstra Road) with Rev. Fr. Tony Pelak as Celebrant. There will be a one-hour visitation prior to the mass. A CELEBRATION OF LIFE will be held on Friday evening, August 28, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Bella Maria’s Ristorante & Event Center (513 West Pontaluna Road). Interment will be made in Laketon Township Cemetery. MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS may be made to the Rosemary Lambert Memorial Fund c/o The Community Foundation for Muskegon County. MEMORIES OF ROSEMARY can be shared with her family in the comments section of her blog (rosemarylambert.com).

My Poor Tongue (Part Two)

I woke up the next morning feeling relieved that I didn’t have any more tongue-biting incidents. As my day rolled on I started to get nervous about the upcoming night because we didn’t yet have a solution for my problem. Earlier in the day Kelly searched the Internet hoping to find some answers and she found many but nothing I was willing to try. The more we talked about it the more anxious I got. Bryan suggested that we call our good friend Eric Sesselmann who has been a well-respected dentist in Muskegon for many years with the thought that he could recommend a simple solution we could try. Eric was out of town but said he would check on me in a couple of days when he returned home. Bryan then thought to call one of his best friends, Jessica Bodenberg, who just graduated from dental school and is now working in Muskegon at her family’s dental practice, Great Lakes Dental Excellence. Jessica said she would ask her family of physicians if they had any ideas and she would get back to us. That night I slept with my head facing up towards the ceiling and had no tongue biting issues.

The next morning Bryan called with excitement in his voice and said Jessica and her aunt Shelly would be stopping by to help us. When they arrived they made an impression of my teeth and said they would be back tomorrow with the finished product. The next day doctors Jessica and Shelly came with the finished bite splints. The splints fit perfectly and I no longer bite my tongue during the night. As a added bonus when I yawn my top teeth no longer crash down on my bottom teeth. Before they left, Shelly ground and polished my jagged front teeth.

Thank you Eric, Shelly and Jessica. We will never forget this.

So Incredibly Grateful

I am awed by all the wonderful people in our life and I’m so incredibly grateful.

Make It Count

Ever since we found out that I was sick we try to celebrate each day as if it were our last. Our hugs are a little tighter, our dinners are a little longer and we are a little bit more patient with each other. I hope you’re able to make each day count, too.

Doddie’s 75th Birthday

In October of 2002 Mark’s mom Doddie turned seventy-five years old so Mark’s siblings decided to all meet in Florida where his parents lived to surprise her. Debbie, Wes, Mark and I flew in on the day of the party where we met up with Vicki, Bruce, Patti and Luz at Vicki’s house. Shortly thereafter a limousine arrived and drove all eight of us plus Vicki’s kids, Christopher and Monica, to Doddie’s house for the surprise. Upon arriving the six out-of-towners stayed in the limo while Vicki and her family went into the house to escort Doddie and Louie outside. Up to this point Doddie and Louie don’t know that their Michigan children were in town or that there was a limousine parked out in front of their house. As they walked toward us we could hear the excitement in Doddie’s voice and Luz was patiently waiting with his video camera to capture this memorable occasion on film.

After the surprise everyone except the kids rode around West Palm Beach in style drinking champagne. We stopped at the ocean for a photo shoot and our evening ended back at Vicki’s house for a beautiful candlelit seafood dinner served by Christopher and Monica. This day was definately one we will always remember.

I would like to thank David and Kate Bower at Old to New Media for getting this video online.