Obituary: William Rosemergy

William F. (Bill) Rosemergy, 85, of Kearsarge, Michigan passed away on November 19, 2024, at U.P. Health System-Portage in Hancock, peacefully with his family by his side.

 

 

William was born on April 16, 1939, to William and Cordelia (Nadeau) Rosemergy in Laurium, Michigan. He was raised in Calumet and graduated from Calumet High School with the class of 1957. He was on the football, basketball, and track teams and played the trombone in the band.

 

Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1957 and served until 1959. On August 25, 1962, he married the love of his life Joan Perrault after being introduced on 5th street in Calumet. 

 

Bill began working at the C&H Mine as a Gandy Dancer. The Gandy Dancers were responsible for insuring that the train tracks were in good condition -replacing railroad ties, repairing the tracks and keeping them free of snow. He moved on to join the Brake Dancers which involved jumping off the train to hand-set switches, and then jumping back on. He finished working in the geology department when the mine closed.

 

He traded in his work boots and underground mining clothes for wingtip shoes and suits. Bill began his banking career at Detroit & Northern Bank as a teller. He attended the NMU School of Banking, doing the work in the evenings at the kitchen table. He was a mortgage lender at the Merchant and Miners’ Bank, First of America Bank, retiring from the Superior National Bank in 2002.

 

Bill made friends easily and kept some of those friends for his lifetime. He still has friends from when he grew up on 8th street in Calumet, high school, and from work. In his retirement, he bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, learned to ride and spent 10 winters in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. He was proud of his Cornish heritage, being a veteran, and loving his family.

 

He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Joan, son William and daughter Amy. He is survived by his daughter Judy, numerous cousins and friends.

 

Special thanks go out to the many people who have helped him over the past few years. The entire staff at Portage Hospital was stellar during his brief final stay.

 

In lieu of memorials, Bill would prefer that people spend time with family and friends. Raise a glass with your beverage of choice, toast him, then carry on.

 

A memorial will be held in the future.

 

Online condolence for the family may be left at www.ericksoncrowleypeterson.com 

The Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.