ROSELYN JEAN VREDENBURGH

On September 2, 2013, Roselyn passed on to the Great Beyond. It was Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and therefore her least favorite holiday. Roselyn was born April 11, 1931 at the beginning of the depression but was seldom ever depressed. Her parents were the late Joseph Mulholland and Rose (McQuaid) Mulholland. She was also the sister of the late Margaret Dyson, Sheila Mulholland, and Joan Mulholland. She graduated from URI in 1951 with a Home Economics degree, which (just between us) her daughters claimed she never really put to good use at the stove. She did however defy convention when, instead of waiting for a husband to whisk her away from living at home, she hopped in a car and drove to San Diego where she worked as a social worker. In the late 1950s she went to work for the USO on the Johnson Air Force Base in Japan. There she would meet her husband, Army Major Fletcher Vredenburgh. While it took some persuading on his part, they married in 1961, settled in Pawtucket, and had three delightful daughters. In 1975 Roselyn became a community organizer for the Diocese of Providence at the agency Project Hope in Central Falls where she bullied the bullies, got lights and heat turned back on, put holiday food baskets on empty tables, and organized an annual 10-mile walkathon (which was really 9ish miles) to raise funds for a local soup kitchen. After retiring at least twice from Project Hope (What could she do? They kept calling her back!), she moved to Narragansett to be closer to the beach, her daughters, and grandchildren. She spent several happy years holding court, telling her stories, and entertaining friends, family, and the occasional besotted stranger. She is survived by her three lovely daughters: Kathleen and her husband Paul Coupland, Sheila and her husband Christopher Baker both of Narragansett, and Joan and Dennis DelGizzo of North Kingstown. She was grandmother to five and a friend of too many to count, but you know who you are.
She has given strict orders that her passing will not be met with tears and sad, whisper-y voices. Hers will be a true Irish wake with much laughter, love, celebration, and perchance a libation or two. Funeral from the Nardolillo Funeral Home, SOUTH COUNTY CHAPEL, 1111 Boston Neck Road, (Rt.1A) Narragansett on Saturday at 7:45 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:00 a.m. in St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church, 864 Point Judith Road, Narragansett. Burial will be in Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery, Exeter. VISITING HOURS Friday 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Project Hope, 474 Broadway, Pawtucket, RI 02860.

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