Rosemary (Jenkins) Raridon

Rosemary (Jenkins) Raridon

Youngstown, Ohio

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Ainsworth Community Church in Ainsworth, Iowa, for former Iowa resident Rosemary (Jenkins) Raridon, who passed away peacefully on Oct 2, 2024, in Youngstown, Ohio.

She will be laid to rest beside her beloved husband Wade Raridon at the Oregon Township Cemetery in Ainsworth following the service.

Rosemary was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, on November 9, 1934, to Charles and Ruth (Arrasmith) Jenkins. The youngest of three children, she grew up in Ainsworth, Iowa, and graduated from Ainsworth High School with her class in 1952. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa, majoring in vocal performance under Professor Herald Stark.

Rosemary joined her husband on the faculty of the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University in 1971 as an assistant professor of voice, retiring in 2004. She also taught private voice lessons at her home, which she continued to do until 2019.

Rosemary is survived by her daughter, Geri Socciarelli and son-in-law, Michael, of Streetsboro, Ohio, and her son, Timothy Raridon (Linda Scharf) of Girard, Ohio; four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Pat Jenkins, of Washington, Iowa, and Nancy Raridon of Bennington, Nebraska; many cousins, nieces and nephews; and special family friends, Denise Smith of Ravenna, Ohio, and Sharla Delancy of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Wade; son, Atty. Michael Raridon; brothers, Kermit Jenkins and Quentin Jenkins; parents-in-law, Dallas and Guy Raridon; brothers-in-law, Delbert “Dobie” Raridon, Donald “Skip” Raridon, and Anton Mueller; sisters-in-law, Barbara Mueller, Judith Raridon, and Dorothy Jenkins.

In lieu of flowers, material tributes in honor of Rosemary may be made to the Herald Stark Opera Scholarship Fund, c/o the University of Iowa; or to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Arrangements were handled by Stark Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services.