Rose Patricia Byersdorfer

Rose Byersdorfer passed away peacefully on Satuday, January 6, 2018, at her home in Sonoma, California. She was born to Italian immigrants Maria Tucci and Joseph Palladino in Livermore, California, on April 22, 1928, the youngest of four sisters, Rosalie, Nancy, and Antoinette. The family eventually moved to Sacramento, where Rose graduated from St. Francis High School in 1946 and went to work for AT&T as a telephone operator. It was there that her good friend and co-worker Phyllis Byersdorfer introduced her to her handsome brother, Luvern Byersdorfer, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was home on leave from the Navy.

Rose and Luvern married in 1947 and raised a family of four in Sacramento. Rose moved in 1975 to Sonoma, where she spent 17 years working at the Sonoma Developmental Center. After retirement, she was an active member of the Sonoma Valley Hospital Auxiliary, volunteered at the State Park, and was a devoted parishioner of St. Leo Catholic Church. Of her many passions, gardening took center stage, and years of nurturing and cultivating plants around her home set it apart as one of the loveliest in the neighborhood.

To have known Rose is to know that she was a kind, caring, fully accepting soul who genuinely loved life and helping people.  An accomplished cook, she is fondly remembered for her never-ending gifts of breads, cookies, and jams. Rose is survived by her daughter Sandra and son-in-law Sunny Seabrook of Sonoma; daughter Susan Byersdorfer of New Mexico; son Gregory and daughter-in-law Deborah Byersdorfer of Washington; and son Michael Byersdorfer of California. Rose is also survived by grandchild Micah Byersdorfer of Idaho, and grandchild Joel Byersdorfer, his wife, Alissa, and their daughter, Helen, of Colorado.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of Rose’s favorite charities: 1) Valley of the Moon Children's Foundation,  2) Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, or 3) Hospice by the Bay.

A Memorial Service will be held at St. Leo Catholic Church on March 10, 2018, at 11:00 a.m.

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