Rosemary Della (née Schmitz) Walusiak, a resident of Des Plaines, passed away on January 7, 2026, at the age of 96. Rosemary was born on January 1, 1930, at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston and resided in Wilmette for 90 years.

Rosemary was a devoted wife to William John for 57 wonderful years. She was also a Super Mom to eight children. She loved to read, sew, knit, and crochet. Rosemary was a passionate gardener, growing all sorts of plants and flowers that she shared with family and friends. Her peonies were especially hardy and became a favorite in the gardens of her friends and family. Later in life, she discovered beading, creating beautiful handmade jewelry and friendship bracelets that she cherished giving as gifts. And she loved the card game, Kings in the Corner!

Rosemary was always eager to learn. She attended New Trier High School and, after raising her kids, went back to college to get a degree in business computer applications, which was a bit of a "novel" field at the time. This opened up some exciting opportunities for the empty nester. She used her computer skills throughout her life, even as an nonagenarian! Rosemary also took college-level courses to learn the Japanese kanji, katakana, and hiragana languages and the history of samurai culture. She was also a certified graphoanalyst, which is a scientific way to figure out someone's character and personality by looking at their handwriting, using a well-defined scientific method.

Rosemary served for over 57 years as a spiritual leader for her church. During that time she was a cleric, spiritual aide, and a newsletter editor for the state of Illinois. She managed and published her church's newsletter for over ten years.

Rosemary is survived by her children, Wayne (Susie) Walusiak of Spring Grove, Caryn (Hazim) Zakko of Chicago, Wendy (Donald) Wils of Glenview, Kenneth (Debbie) Walusiak of Des Plaines, Mary Stephanie Kuhlow of Spring Hill, Florida, Karla Hypes of Naperville, and Merry K. Clark of Arlington Heights. Her grandchildren are Benjamin Walusiak, Lauren (Daniel) Bricker, Jennifer (Kirill) Kurshunov, Eric Walusiak, Taylor Hypes, Dillon Hypes, Adam Kuhlow, and her great-grandsons are Zachary Bricker and Mason Bricker.

Rosemary was preceded in death by her beloved daughter, Patricia A. Jaffe, her parents, Anna Lily and Joseph John Schmitz, II, husband, William John, brother and sister-in-law, Joseph J. Schmitz, III, and Marion W. Schmitz, brother, Richard H. Schmitz, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Edward J. and Dorothy H. Walusiak, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Victoria (Walusiak) and William Anderson, and her sons-in-law, Stanley Clark and David Kuhlow.

The family will host a Celebration of Rosemary's Life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rosemary's memory to either the Self-Help Closet and Pantry of Des Plaines, 769 Holiday Lane, Des Plaines, IL 60016, or the Illinois Satsang Society, P.O. Box 353, Westmont, IL 60559-0353. Funeral care provided by G.L. Hills Funeral Home and Cremation Center. For information, please call 847-699-9003 or visit www.glhillsfuneralhome.com .