Rosalyn Marie
A tribute to my mother.
ROSALYN MARIE
An excerpt from My Hemlock Heart
I can still feel the prickles of grass and the coolness of the ground on the back of my legs as we supine within the shadows of the four great Spruce trees in the backyard. Time moved much slower then and you were happy. We watched the clouds slowly drift above our heads as you pointed to the sky saying, “That one looks like a bird, and that one looks like a face! Do you think that’s the face of God? It looks like He’s smiling at us.”
We laid perfectly still as we imagined who was on each airplane flying above and where they were headed. To this day, I love watching planes and I often catch myself staring up lost in wonder.
Next to our house sat a wooden picnic bench under a large Maple tree. My sister and I would sit for hours writing short stories for my mom. We used thin pieces of cardboard as the backing and glued wrapping paper and old scraps of wallpaper as the cover. Christmas ribbons and twine were used as the threads to hold the books together. Our first self-published books.
As time marched on, my writings found themselves on the backs of paper receipts, colorful Post-it notes, the inside of gum wrappers, and even a few random boarding passes. Then one day in 2020, I decided it was time to gather all my writings and share them with the world. I started an Instagram account and once again, my mom was my biggest fan.
Then, on a cold grey November day, I sat next to my mom’s hospital bed just hours before her passing. She turned her head to look at me and whispered, “Keep writing.” I leaned over, kissed her forehead, and said, “I promise, I’ll keep writing, and I’m dedicating my first book to you.” She smiled and shook her head in approval.
So, here I sit at another wooden table editing my notes and selecting the best photo for the cover. Only this time, I won’t be running through the screen door and into the kitchen to show my mom my new creation or call her to say “check your Instagram” …this time is different.
As I type through my tears, I can see her smile and hear her say, “I enjoyed that, Autumn.”
Thank you, mom. Thank you for always encouraging me to look up and write things down. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and being my mouthpiece when I didn’t have the words to speak so many years ago. Thank you for teaching me how to see the good in everything, even within the clouds.
My Mom
My mom, Rosalyn Marie Peffer, loved taking care of people. She loved being with her children, her grandchildren, her three sisters, her mother - Rosie, and my mom’s aunts and cousins. I was very blessed to have grown up surrounded by loving women. The amount of singing, bowls of potato chips, hot pepper sandwiches, and pots of coffee are immeasurable. (Liquified Love)
My mom had the heart of a servant leader. She made quiet impacts throughout our local community, and she never looked for accolades or even a “thank you.” She did it because she saw the good in people, the needs of our community, and she had the type of faith that was personal and impactful.
For years, my mom suffered from pinched nerves in her spine that affected her right leg and arm. She had multiple surgeries, one in which the doctor accidentally punctured her lung which greatly impacting her Sarcoidosis. My mom suffered, but she didn’t complain. She was a mother and an incredible businesswoman. Her and my dad started a successful family business in 1976 that is still in operation today: Doug Peffer’s Deer Cutting and Smokehouse.
They not only provide jobs for local community members but help feed people in the area through food donation programs, donate to several local fundraisers and charities in Beaver County, PA, and even work with hospital in Pittsburgh.
The final months of my mom’s life were very difficult for her. She was on oxygen 24/7, struggled to get out of the house using her walker, and the trip to the car alone was enough to exhaust her. In 2020, I moved to Texas, which was the hardest move of my life, so I made several trips back to PA to visit leading up to November of 2022. I had just been in town for my cousins wedding that September and quickly scheduled a trip back for eight days at the end of October, the week of my birthday. She asked me why I flew back so soon after being there a few weeks earlier for the wedding. I told her I wanted to spend my birthday week with her, which was the truth, but she wasn’t doing well and she knew it too.
I spent all week with her. Every evening, we would sit in the living room together watching TV, and our favorite show, Family Feud.
One night as we were sitting there, she asked me to look up the song Could I Have This Dance by Anne Murray from Urban Cowboy. As the song played, she told me the whole story behind how Anne was picked to be the one to sing the song.
Then she looked at me and said, “This is my favorite song.”
I will hold that week close to my heart… for the rest of my life.
I miss my mom every single day. She was my mother, my best friend, the greatest grandmother to my children, and an amazing person.
Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day, mom.
R. Marie Foundation
My brother started a foundation in my mother’s honor to carry on her legacy of giving in our local community. If you would like to learn more about the foundation, you can follow along on Facebook and Instagram: R. Marie Foundation.
Instagram: R. Marie Foundation
This is so warming. Thank you so much for sharing this one 😍
All I can say is I loved this story soooo much! I will always remember Roz and of course aunt Rose!