Rose M. Walker-Smith

Rose Walker-Smith was born on January 27, 1959 in Springfield, Ohio. She was the youngest of six children born to the late Estella Stewart Walker and Raymond Walker. She was a 1977 graduate of Greenon High School in Springfield and 1984 Central State University alumni, where she majored in business. At CSU, Rose was an avid softball player who forfeited an athletic career for a successful business career. While there, she worked her way through school as a Nurses' Assistant. Rose became a business entrepreneur in 1997, owning her own sales and business development firm. She also spent more than twenty years in the healthcare industry as a manager of home health care. Rose cared for both of her parents in their final years, which kindled her passion for care giving. She channeled her energy into eldercare issues, becoming a Certified Senior Adviser and the Central Ohio representative for the National Family Caregivers Association. Rose met her husband John (Jack) Smith in 1994 and was married in 1997. Rose loved all animals, especially dogs. Her three miniature dachshunds ('The Good Girls Club') were pampered and well-loved. Rose passed away on October 16, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. Survived by her husband Jack; brother, Danny (Yellow Springs); sister, Sandra Lynch (California) and five nephews, a niece and numerous cousins. Rose was preceded in death by her parents, brother Roland and infant sisters Ruth Elaine and Deborah Sue. She will also be missed by her 'sister/ cousins' Pam Stewart and Nancy Stewart Mason and 'brother/cousins' Robert Reid and Joseph Reid.