Rose Rowsey was born in the midst of the Roaring ’20s. Demonstrating her zest for life, Rowsey, who celebrated her birthday on Saturday at The Break Room in Newhall with loved ones, is set to turn 100 on Thursday.
The mother of two kids, Doug and Pat, who were present during her festivities, Rowsey has enjoyed her life as a creative person, taking up photography as a profession. Born in New Jersey as one of seven children, as a middle child of three girls and three boys, Rowsey reflected Saturday on the positive occurrences throughout her life.
Doug, her first child, was born in Riverside when Rowsey and her husband Thurman Douglas “TD” Rowsey, a Tennessee native, decided to move to California.
“We lived in Fontana, for my dad built a house there. I lived there for about 10 or 12 years, and then I left. She stayed there until my dad passed. She was living in Rialto and sold the house [around 13 years ago],” Doug said. “She is a very God-fearing woman. She’s very religious. I respect that she’s not very self-centered. She loves everybody, and will give you a shirt off her back. She’s a pretty amazing woman.”
Doug reflected on his mother’s sense of humor, and how she jokes around with the grandchildren who live in Santa Clarita, as well.
Doug’s son, Richard Rowsey, who owns The Break Room, discussed his grandmother’s vibrant energy as she continues to navigate her life without needing extra assistance.
“It’s amazing. She’s 100 years old, and she lives upstairs [in a senior living facility without an elevator], gets around, shops on her own. It’s truly a miracle and she can just move around. Just a few years ago, she was still driving,” Richard said. “We love that she’s able to do all this stuff and maneuver around at this age. She doesn’t look 100.”
Richard reflected on Rose’s “good heart,” and how she wouldn’t let him take out the trash this past week because “that’s what keeps her young.”
“I think praying every day and keeping full of life and exercising and never stopping is the ‘secret sauce,’” Richard said. “When we were younger, she had a fish pond. We used to call her ‘Grandma Fishpond’ and we would always go play with the fish pond and see the fish.”
Rowsey “can’t complain” about the life she’s lived, and credits keeping busy all day long as a factor in not feeling any differently throughout the years.
“I enjoy life. I love people, and I love the stories that they tell about things that have happened within their families. I had a wonderful family life. We all got along. We all had fun. I can’t complain about anything, not anything,” Rowsey said. “I loved ice skating, it was so much fun. In the summertime, we played baseball and there was a farm that was close by that had a big hill, and we would get on a piece of wood that my father shined up and go down the hill.”
Rowsey discussed how she became involved in photography, a career that would span many decades of her life.
“I went to a photographer to have my pictures taken, and he was looking for somebody that he could train. He said, ‘Nobody seems to want it.’ I said, ‘I do.’ I love to learn,” Rowsey said. “I learned so much from that man because he was very patient. You have to be when you’re learning something like that because you have to learn lighting, and you have to fix your lights so the shadows are just right.”
As a religious woman, Rowsey has advice for the younger generations who are navigating hardships.
“People come up to me and ask, ‘What’s your secret?’ and I say, ‘God is my secret.’ I try to do what God wants me to do. I love people, and even when people do wrong, you have to love everybody,” Rowsey said. “You don’t have to love what they’re doing. Maybe through the friendship you have with them, they can begin to see differently and change completely to become a good person.”
Rose Rowsey turns 100 with the help of faith and fitness
