Edith Rosing

MIDDLETON- Edith Rosing was born August 17th 1927 somewhere in the United States. We know where but we won't tell because Edie would never admit to living there. Her parents were Philip Kolko and Leah Zadikow. She had a little brother, Gabriel Kolko, that preceded her in death.
For her first five years she spoke only Yiddish. From this she gathered her fine wit. When asked what she remembered about the Depression she said "money, nobody had any." She was a smart child and read voraciously her entire life. She went to Ohio State where she received a degree in Social Work. If you think she was born in Ohio you should give it a break, she wasn't.
At Ohio State she met John Rosing. Actually it was a lot more romantic than that. They met at Hillel and John fell in love with this beautiful woman as soon as he saw her. Unfortunately for him the attraction was not mutual and it took some time to win her over. However, it was Edie who told John, "I'll make you that sweater but only if you marry me." They were married June 19th, 1949. They stayed together for 65 years through thick and thin, good times and bad.
Edie's first job was as a translator helping Yiddish immigrants in Ohio. Her training in social work, however, was a better preparation for raising her three sons, that survive her, Michael, David, and Matthew. She mostly ignored all of the advice on how to raise children and followed her heart. She was a mama bear to her sons. She loved them dearly but woe to anyone that came between her and her cubs.
John and Edie's sons were born in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and Denver as their family moved from job to job. They gave up on having a daughter but they kept moving, to Philidelphia, Brussels Belgium, Baltimore, back to Denver and finally to Madison. Her favorite cities were Denver, because of the mountains, and Brussels, because of the food. While moving was never fun, Edie loved to travel. In the 50's she nagged John to go to Europe until he finally relented with "sure, just to get it out of your system." Since then the two of them filled up several passports traveling throughout Europe and Asia. They went to Mont Saint Michelle to eat omelets and to the USSR to sneak out the names of Jews that wanted to emigrate to Israel. London, Paris, Bangkok. Normandy, Switzerland, India. It was all an adventure. And the food was good, too. Edie understood the phrase "Americans eat to live but the French live to eat." She also enjoyed cooking, which her family took advantage of. She was a foodie before the phrase was created. She also enjoyed sewing and style, which her family didn't understand. A beautiful woman that lived through the depression, she made her own clothes. She also enjoyed opera, which her family did not.
Being a mom, Edie naturally couldn't wait to be a grandmother. She was blessed with Eric, Sam, and Josh. After three sons and three grandsons she finally got what she wanted, granddaughter Emily. Truth be told Edie loved all of her children and grandchildren equally. She also loved to worry about them.
Edie had a wonderful sense of humor. If you asked her where she was born she'd likely respond with gay kocken oifen yom, the Yiddish equivalent to go jump in a lake, but a lot saltier. She pushed through adversity with her humor and great sense of style, enjoyed the good in life, and selflessly took care of her family.
She passed away on January 12th in her sleep, with John sleeping next to her. She donated her body to the research of cavernous angiomas ( www.angiomaalliance.org ). Her ashes will be spread over the Colorado Rockies, where the sky is blue, the mountains are beautiful, and the water is refreshing.

Cress Funeral Home
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434