Gloria M. Meli

Gloria M. (Anderson, Rosengren) Meli, 96, died peacefully September 2, 2022, with her children by her side.
Born March 29, 1926, to Floyd and Mildred (Johnson) Anderson, she was the eldest of their three daughters. Gloria was a lifelong resident of Rockford, Illinois and attended Wight Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High School, and graduated from the then newly constructedEast High School in 1944.
On June 19, 1948, she married her high school sweetheart, Warren (Rosie) Rosengren. Together they raised and nurtured a family for more than 24 years until Rosie's untimely death in 1972. Several years later Gloria would meet Joseph Meli at a Parents Without Partners gathering. They literally danced into each other's hearts and were married on November 11, 1977. They cooked, enjoyed traveling together and continued to dance up a storm until Joe's death in 1982.
Growing up, she was the son her father never had, learning to shoot, run the motorboat and fish. Her cultural underpinnings played an important part of her everyday life. She was proud of her Swedish heritage and enjoyed cooking the meals she remembered from her childhood (with the exception of lutefisk). She built relationships that lasted for decades and remained close to her sisters and many aunts and uncles and cousins her entire life.
Maybe because of the war years, or maybe because they simply enjoyed each other's company, Gloria and her high school lunch-time girlfriends grew especially close. When the bunch of them graduated they pledged to stay in touch. The 'club' began to meet once a month for desserts first at their parents' homes, then their own homes as they each began to settle down and start families. They met once a month, every month, for the next 77 years until age made traveling too difficult to meet.
When she was just four, Gloria's mother Milly took her to Bethesda Evangelical Covenant Church in a search to find a church for the family. The warm welcoming atmosphere won their hearts and Bethesda remained an important part of Gloria's life for the next 92 years. She held many leadership and support roles within the church; as Sunday school teacher for more than a decade, secretary to the Church Council, member of the Diaconate Board, treasurer and board member of Covenant Women and longtime member and co-chair of Kathryn Circle.
Gloria worked in the offices of the Rockford Board of Education for 25 years before retiring in 1991. While at the Board, she and her colleagues regularly walked across the street to the pool at the YWCA near State & Madison. She continued to swim at that pool through retirement and well into her 80s. She loved swimming nearly as much as she loved her garden. She took special pride in cultivating Hostas and nasturtiums and the habitats that attracted so many animals. Her cats thanked her too for providing so much entertainment.
She was a wonderful daughter, sister, and wife, and the greatest mother, grandmother and friend. She was courageous and warm, happy and forgiving. She touched many lives and will be sorely missed.
Gloria is survived by sister Jenine (Norman) Derix, Sarasota, FL; daughter Lane (Randall) Keller of McNabb, IL; son James Rosengren (Kathryn Shuler), Kemah, TX; stepson Philip (Linda) Meli of Marshfield, WI; step-grandchildren Nicholas Meli, Milwaukee, WI and Matthew Meli Denver, CO and their mother Jacquie Meli, Rockford, IL; special daughter Michelle (Dorr) Markonas, Rockford, IL; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
She is preceded in death by her parents Mildred and Floyd Anderson, her husband Warren Rosengren, her husband Joseph Meli and her sister and brother-in-law Muriel and Gene R. Boyd.
A special thank you to Gloria's second family of staff, doctors, nurses, CNAs and residents at Alpine Fireside for their love and care.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 16, 2022 at Fred C. Olson Chapel, 1001 Second Ave., Rockford. Visitation will be from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the service. Burial in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Machesney Park, IL. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (act.alz.org/donate), or another organization of your choosing. To send a condolence or share a memory, visit olsonfh.com .