Rosalie Marjorie Abrams

Abrams, Rosalie Marjorie (Gresser) October 13, 1921 - January 4, 2010. Rosalie, a wife, mother, sister, grandmother, aunt and friend to many, passed away peacefully on January 4, 2010 surrounded by her family after a gallant struggle with Alzheimer's Disease. She was preceded in death by her adoring husband Maurice, who held hands with her for 63 years and who she took the most loving care of during his final days, her sister, Arlene Dooha and brother-in-law, Sam Dooha, and sister, Marcia Stein. She created a home that was a hubbub of love and projects helping to manifest peace and social justice filled with friends and family. Rosalie, 88, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daughter of Naomi (Molly) and Albert Gresser. She and Maury and their children joined the migration to California and moved by car to Los Angeles in 1954, settling in the San Fernando Valley and eventually moving to Anaheim in 1960. Rosalie attended college in her 40's achieving both a bachelor's and a Master's degree in Theatre Arts from California State College in Fullerton. Rosalie began tap dancing in her fifties, and delighted audiences and family with her tap dancing well into her 80's. Rosalie founded the Orange County chapter of the National Organization for Women in 1969 when taking a stand for women's rights was groundbreaking territory. She founded the Orange County Feminist Repertory Theatre in 1971, and secured the lease, with her husband, for the county's first Feminist Women's Health Center in 1973. She was a leader in the Unitarian Church of Orange County for almost 50 years, later in life serving as church greeter even as she fought the demons of Alzheimer's Disease. Rosalie's efforts to bring peace and social justice to the world came from a deep desire to end racism, war, homophobia and other barriers, and she was a warrior fighting all forms of discrimination. Her work included fundraising and creating speaking and discussion forums on issues ranging from the civil rights movement in the 60's , U.S.-China friendship, Jewish/Palestinian conflict resolution, feminism, immigrant rights, and creating peace during the Vietnam war, the various wars in Central America, and the war in Iraq. In her younger years Rosalie fought valiantly for the rights of workers within the Union movement. A dancer, actress and playwright (author of "Myth America: How Far Have We Really Come," Macho Uber Alles: The Man in the Teflon Suit," and "Beyond the Button Collection"), Rosalie actively worked to benefit underrepresented and poor people everywhere. Her commitment to the things she believed in never interfered with the encouragement and support she gave her family in their own creative pursuits. It should also be mentioned that Rosalie was a formidable scrabble player not to be taken lightly. Rosalie was an extraordinary person, always giving, never taking, and her passing leaves an ache in all our hearts. She leaves her loving children, Beth and Steven; grandchildren, Dario, Maya, Molly and Sophie; nieces, Amy and Jeanie; grandnieces, Corinna and Gabrielle and grandnephews, Mikael and Jessie, and many family and friends. The family would like to extend special thanks to Shelia Mickelson, whose care for Rosalie was unparalleled, and to the Galloway Family, who looked out for her in ways that re-defined what it means to be a neighbor. Rosalie would have appreciated contributions in her memory be made to Grupo de la Comida, P.O. Box 884813, San Francisco, CA 94188.