Rosemarie Haley McCrea

Devoted wife, mother, and grandmother (and great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother!), Rosemarie Haley McCrea passed away Friday, May 27th at the amazing age of 104, a month away from her 105th birthday. Over the course of more than a century, she provided endless amounts of love, wisdom, meals, and service to so many people, but especially to her family who loved and adored her. Mom was born June 30th, 1917 in Salt Lake City to Juanita Vera Timms and Horace Mullins Haley, the oldest of three sisters. She married the love of her life, James Fredrick McCrea on June 27th, 1940. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on September 29th, 1947. Since she lost her beloved Jim in 1991, not a day passed that she did not express her love and longing for her sweetheart, and we know that their reunion has been overwhelmingly joyous.
Blessed with two children, Joanne and James, Mom was a master homemaker, and was astounding in her range of talents and abilities. She dazzled us with her sewing, needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, painting, and quilting skills. The huge number of quilts she produced are still in use across her grateful family. Her cooking is legendary as she fed and entertained hundreds of people over the years, both in her home and in the form of meals delivered to friends and neighbors experiencing all the highs and lows of life. Her catalogue of recipes is shared and cherished by her family, who constantly work to achieve that highest of compliments to their cooking of, “just like Grandma’s!”
A faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mom had a simple and powerful testimony of her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She spent endless hours in service over the years as a primary leader, extraction missionary, and as a visiting teacher who never missed a visit in over forty years. As a devoted compassionate service leader, she provided countless meals to neighbors and ward members. An avid journal keeper and family historian, she loved and faithfully attended the temple.
Mom instilled in her posterity a love of the ocean and over the decades she made dozens of trips to beaches from Oregon to Southern California. She loved to put her feet in the sand and feel the wind in her hair. Her family shares her love of travel, Mexican food, fish and chips, and all the other wonders of the coast. She was adored by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who loved to hear her stories and advice, to laugh together, and of course, to eat her amazing food. She has had a profound influence on generations of her family who will treasure their time with her forever.
She is survived by her daughter, Joanne (Thomas W.) Parker, and son, James Frederick (Laurie) McCrea, Jr., along with eight grandchildren and their spouses, twenty-two great-grandchildren and their spouses, and three great-great-grandchildren. She is proceeded in death by her parents, her husband, Jim, her sisters Marjorie Haley Erickson and Mary Louise Haley Newell, and her son-in-law, Tom.
Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, June 2nd at the 27th East Ward LDS Chapel at 185 P Street, Salt Lake City. A viewing will be held that morning from 9:30 to 10:45, followed by the funeral service at 11:00. Interment will be at the Salt Lake City Cemetery following the services.