Roseanne Healis was born January 4th, 1924, in Philadelphia, PA. She leaves an older brother, John and she had a sister, Mary, as well as other extended family. John says that when she was a little girl she would follow him and the boys everywhere and because of this, she learned to do all the things they did. He said she was very sharp, so he taught her how to fish…she out-fished him! He taught her how to hunt…she out-hunted him! He taught her how to ice-skate…she out-skated him! In fact, she was so good at this that the “Ice Capades” wanted her to join their traveling team (but her parents said no). He taught her how to repair and build things and she became so proficient that when she was older, she bought small houses and did all the contracting work herself. She was a smart business woman who was way ahead of her time, earning an A-1 contracting license (when brother John says he could only get a B license). He did such a great job of teaching her that she outshined him in everything (he says with pride).
When she was 20, she married Ed Bascom. They moved to Albuquerque where they resided for 10 years. After her divorce, she traveled and hunted all over the world. She hunted wild boar in Hawaii, and bears in Alaska, just to name a few. During that time, when she was in her late 30’s, she met and married Jack Palmer. They were married for 10 years and spent their time together in Albuquerque. Through her friend Loveta, she later met J.L. LaFon, who was to be the love of her life. They spent 25 years together until he passed away in 2009. Seven years ago, they moved from Albuquerque’s high elevation to Southern California so she wouldn’t have to be on oxygen full time. She loved being close to her family and spent every holiday with them. She enjoyed and always looked forward to the weekly family poker games and going to yard sales with her brother and sister-in-law, Jane. Roseanne was a beautiful woman who was always well put-together and dressed to impress – a force of nature. She was a kind, caring and generous person. She became very close to many people at Sunrise, where she lived until the end of her life. She loved her family and friends and they loved her. She will be greatly missed.