Rose Marie Ahue

Rose Marie Ahue was a painter, an adventurer, a lover of music and books and a savior to animals. She was a beloved mother and grandmother who passed away in Huntington Beach, CA on January 10, 2020 at the age of 92.


Rose Marie was born Rose Marie Large on December 1, 1927 in Belleville, IL to Florence Clara Dickerson, née Conklin and William Frank Large. Rose Marie spent her childhood living with her grandparents and was raised with her young aunts and uncles on their family farm in Belleville where her grandfather was a coal miner and her grandmother was a homemaker. She grew up amongst soldiers stationed at Scott Airforce Base, where her mother and later she, worked. At the age of 17 she joined her mother in New York City and at 18 traveled across the country by train to California in search of a life to call her own. She settled in an all-woman boarding house in San Francisco and got a job as a switchboard operator at The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company and later worked as a dental assistant. Her treasured son W. Scott A. Kidd, whom she shared with her first husband, was born in Martinez, CA in 1948. She raised him in San Diego, CA where they lived until he joined the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. She later met her second husband, Isaac Ahue to whom she remained happily married for 38 years until his death in 2015.


Rose Marie was a lover of art and traveled the world visiting museums and historical monuments, one of her favorite trips having been to see her beloved El Greco's in Toledo, Spain. She was an accomplished painter with an affinity for painting roses, her namesake, and could often be found in her studio when the light was particularly beautiful, and the sun was especially bright. She loved music of all genres and played the organ—she and Isaac performing duets, he at their baby grand piano and she at the organ. She had a voracious appetite for reading, especially mysteries and romances (Danielle Steele was a favorite). She loved the movies and was entranced by the magic of "Old Hollywood" which may have inspired her cross country move and ultimate choice of where to be laid to rest "amongst the stars." She had a kindredness with animals and took in strays throughout her life, from cats and squirrels to birds and even the occasional raccoon.


Rose Marie is survived by her grandchildren, Kimberly Kamaleialoha "Kamalei" Louie, Aloha Benedict Allen, Mikie Benedict Newton and Darius Kidd; stepdaughters, Haidee Benedict and Julie Toussaint; and daughter-in-law, Terri Kidd. She is preceded in death by her husband, Isaac Ahue and her son, Scott Kidd.


A private burial will be held at Forest Lawn in Glendale, CA on January 24, 2020 where she will be laid to rest with her cherished husband, Isaac.