Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Rose Mary McGeehan was born in 1925, to Francis and Lillian McGeehan in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She joined two sisters in the family, Jane and June. Their mother, Lillian, stayed home to raise the children while Francis worked at Bethlehem Steel as a supervisor of a steel-making process. A hardworking generation, Francis started the first Republican Club in Steelton and the family was very active in the community. Early on, the girls were taught to treat others kindly and to do things well through responsibility. When Rose Mary was only four-years-old, her mother and baby brother died in childbirth. Francis raised the girls on his own, with supportive help from dear neighbors, Susie and Simon Royer.

Rose Mary had a beautiful singing voice. In fact, at the age of 10, she sang regularly on radio in downtown Harrisburg. She was an extremely good student and received notice on the Honor Roll. A beautiful young lady who won a beauty contest in high school, she was also a cheerleader. Rose Mary was involved in drama productions and fellow classmates predicted she would perform on Broadway one day. She graduated from Steelton High School and quickly earned a job as a secretary at the Air Force Base in Harrisburg. At the age of 19, she married and welcomed her first child, Judith, into the world. After World War II and the arrival of classified technology, Rose Mary earned top clearance for her expertise. The Air Force loaned her to the White House. With her excellent secretarial training, she was a top stenographer who could also type and take short-hand at a great speed. Rose Mary’s skills were noticed and she was assigned to work as a personal executive secretary to President Harry S. Truman at the White House beginning in 1951. After her marriage ended, she focused on being a mom and working hard in her high-profile position. On April 11, 1951, she was phoned in the middle of the night as the White House sent a limousine to pick her up. She came in to draft a letter at 2:00 am from President Truman firing General Douglas MacArthur. With Truman’s signature on that letter, which was typed by Rose Mary, MacArthur was then recalled from his command, an important moment in history.

In July 1953, a young man named Alfred Weaver had just returned home from serving the Marine Corps overseas, when he met Rose Mary at a Navy Relief Ball in Quantico, Virginia. After much pursuing, Rose Mary finally agreed to go on a date with Al. Their first date was attending a concert together with Judy along the Potomac River in Washington, near the Lincoln Memorial. The couple soon married in a small private wedding in June 1954. The new family moved to an apartment in Georgetown as Rose Mary continued working at the White House. She was a loyal employee, devoted to her work, and patriotic with a true love of country. In addition to her work, she volunteered as a Red Cross Gray Lady Nurse at the White House. Following her years at the White House, she moved up to work on Capital Hill for various Congressmen on many different commissions, including the Indian Affairs Commission. She also helped with a Special Commission to compensate people from the Philippines, who helped Americans escape during World War II. While her work was important, family came first. The couple was thrilled to expand their family in 1955 as they welcomed their first son, Allan, who was born at the Bethesda Naval Hospital.

The Marine Corps took the family across the country to California. After Rose Mary discovered she was pregnant, she sought the counsel of a doctor of hypnosis. Rose Mary became a part of medical history in 1954 when their son, Robbie, was delivered by caesarean section while under hypnosis and without anesthesia or any pain medication. The family next moved to Atlanta where Rose Mary and her daughter, Judy, were involved in modeling. Rose Mary always loved beautiful clothing and jewelry and cared about her appearance, which made her the perfect model. She also continued her volunteer work in politics and the community. Soon the Family returned to Washington DC, as Al was honored to join the flight crew for the Commandant of the Marine Corps based at Andrews Air Force Base. He traveled the world serving the Commandant. Al remembers there were times during his career when he’d leave for weeks at a time to go overseas to Japan or the Far East or he’d have to leave for a year at a time and Rose Mary always made the family a priority through it all. When Al retired from the Marines after 22 years of service, the family ultimately relocated to California, where he joined Lockheed Aircraft as a Manufacturing Engineer for the next 39 years.

Rose Mary and Al had a great relationship. In the early years, time was most often spent with the children, taking them for pony rides or to the beach, circus, movies, or sightseeing their historical surroundings. Rose Mary did a good job raising the children and gave them support and the loving attention they needed. Judy, Allan and Robb remember her as a great mother who eagerly participated in their education and interests. She always wanted to know about their academics and social events. She gave her children a great love and appreciation of music, as she had a wonderful musical gifs for singing and playing the organ. In fact, she owned two organs. She loved a variety of music including religious hymns, Hawaiian songs, 50’s tunes and contemporary music. She was so proud when Judy became a schoolteacher and married, Toby. When the couple welcomed their first child, John, it was the first grandchild for Rose Mary. As John grew, Rose Mary and Al hatched a plan to send him his first Power Wheels when the family was living in Toronto. The plan was a success! Over the years, Rose Mary made a big fuss over all of the grandchildren by sending flowers, cards and balloons, and little surprises, as she loved them so very much. The grandchildren knew her as Nana, while Al was known as Gramps. Rose Mary had a great ability for remembering birthdays and she was always very generous with her grandchildren. If there was something they wanted, she’d go and get it for them. She loved the many family pictures taken together, so Al always carried two cameras, the 35 mm and Polaroid, to capture the family events. There are so many wonderful pictures of them with their grandchildren. Over the years, she had a great love of animals, especially her pet poodles and bichon frises.

Rose Mary made a huge impact on the lives of family members and friends by sending cards. She sent cards on every memorable event. She collected boxes of new cards so she’d have them on hand for birthdays, anniversaries, and condolences. One of her favorite vacation spots was Hawaii. She loved to shop and see the sights, especially the sunsets and nature spots. Back home, she loved watching birds out in their beautiful garden and yard. Her favorite flowers were pink roses.

The best part of her life was always family. Her purpose in life was being a successful wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She took pride in her family and taught people to have good character with dignity and manners. Everyone will miss her presence. Her husband, Al, will miss her friendship and his ability to care for her. Her daughter, Judy, will miss being able to call and talk with her frequently and her friendship. Her son, Allan, will remember her good judgment, caring for others, and her willingness to help when you needed an answer. Her son, Robb, will miss her positive attitude and her value of honest qualities, which she shared with everyone in the family. He also appreciates that she received genuine, priceless joy in talking with her grandchildren and there are many wonderful memories of them spending time together.

The family believes Nana’s spirit will always be with them. She will best be remembered for being a caring, loving, dignified and powerful presence in a room. When you were in her company, you knew it. She was always a good listener to everyone. Her advice would be to go on and live your life, be happy, be a good person and make her proud.

As we remember those who preceded her in death, we also remember Rose Mary is loved by her entire family: husband, Al; daughter Judy and her husband Toby; son Allan; son Robb and his wife Kristi; grandchildren John, Michael, Caroline, Cole, Baylee, Elliot, and Ashton; sister Jane; dear friend, aunt Bernice, and nieces and nephews: Mary Kate, Patrick, Katie, Kerry, Tommy , Eddie and Carol.

To read Al Weaver's online memorial visit: www.celebrantpam.com/memorials/alfredweaver.html.