HARLINGEN, TX. — Rosalie Gregoris Warner, 93, a member of The Greatest Generation, died Christmas Eve, December 24, 2011 at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas, attended by her children, Anita, a bank lawyer from Dallas, and Larry, a well-known appellate attorney of Harlingen and former State Representative. Mrs. Warner was born very long ago far, far away. She was the eldest daughter of Domenico Gregoris and Virginia Quarin Gregoris; her birth and early rearing took place in the tiny town of San Vito al Tagliamento in the province of Udine, in Northern Italy, not far from either Austria or Slovenia. Born the subject of King Victor Emanuel III on October 3, 1918, she attended first and second grades when Benito Mussolini was Prime Minister of Italy. Her father had gone ahead of the family to make a new life for them all in America. The family, including Rosalie, her mother, and her sister Irma, came to the United States in 1926 on the Motor Vessel Dante Aleghieri, named for Italy's author of renown. The Atlantic crossing took 26 days, during which Rosalie learned her first words of English from fellow passengers and the crew. She and her family went through Ellis Island, passing rapidly with the visa her father had had to wait two years to obtain. The family established itself in the new world in Detroit, where she immediately enrolled in public school and rapidly learned English. Her dad insisted that they speak Italian at home, but also demanded that the children learn English, "because we are in America now, and you need it to succeed." She never said much about the discrimination against immigrants, emphasizing instead opportunity. She graduated from high school in Detroit and also from secretarial school, the latter serving her well through her entire working life, which began with a job with the Navy in Washington D.C. in World War II. There she met the love of her life, Oscar Logan Warner, Jr., who was building roads for the government. Since there were no cars to be bought during the war, they went on their dates on the trolley-cars and handed in ration stamps when they went out to dinner. They married on July 1, 1944; on April 12, 1945 their first child, Larry, was born. On March 27, 1947, their daughter, Anita, arrived. The War ended, work changed, and the family moved to Detroit to be with family. Work changed again and the family moved across cultures and the country from urban Detroit to the oilfields of rural northwest Louisiana, near Bossier City, where they would be for half a century. Her husband, "Tex", worked for an oil company; she worked in an insurance office. Both spent thirty years with the same employer, living in the same town, belonging to Christ the King Catholic Church, the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Daughters. Children of the Depression, they provided stability and encouragement in education for their children, both of whom attained their dad's unfulfilled hope of becoming a lawyer. Rosalie received a medal for her lifelong devotion to the Church given to only two people a year in the Diocese of Shreveport by the Bishop. After "Tex" died, she moved to Harlingen to be near her son; she was a member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, in Harlingen, faithfully attending until the doctors insisted that she stay home and watch mass on tv to avoid crowds and colds and the ensuing pneumonia. Active while living in the retirement village at Camelot, she later bought a house 20 steps from her son's home, where she lived with her caretaker/compañera, Mari, and saw her son and her daughter-in-law, Norma, every day. When Anita moved to Dallas, the flights to Harlingen were shorter and more frequent. Rosalie was preceded in death by her sister Irma. She is survived by her two children, Anita and Larry; her grandchildren: Lary, who teaches Latin in Austin; and Lia, an administrator with the city of Austin, married to Paz Lira; her former son in law, Sonny Davila of Austin; and four great-grandchildren: Hopi, Gracie, and Dylan Davila; and Andrew Logan Warner- Lira, all of Austin; as well as Lee Collenberg, granddaughter, of San Diego, California ; her daughter-in-law, Norma; her sister, Ada and her niece, Tina Aguirre, both of Bloomfield Hills, MI; her nephew, Dennis Malfant and his wife Janah of Florida; her nephew, Rick Bessega and his wife, Eileen, and their son, Zack, of Dearborn, MI; her nephew, Chris Malfant, his wife Abigail, and their three children Jake, Maddie, and Noah of New York.. Her character was marked by steadfastness and caring for her husband and her children, her death by some sadness tempered by great appreciation for a very long and kind life that brought accomplishment and love to those whom she nurtured. Que en paz descanse. May she rest in peace. Mass of Resurrection will be said at 10:00 am on Monday, December 26, 2011, at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, 209 S. 10th St., Harlingen, Tx, 78550, Fr. J. Patrick Serna officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the religious sorority she belonged to for fifty years: Catholic Daughters of America, Court Msgr. J.V. Plauché, c/o the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, Inc.,2500 Line Avenue, Shreveport, Louisiana 71104. Mrs. Warner's Family extends special thanks to Dr. Todd Shenkenberg, M.D. for his extraordinary effort in prolonging her life and to Dr. James Castillo, M.D., and his palliative care team for their kind consolation. The family appreciates the efforts of her nurses: Ross, Lizzie, Araceli, and Echel, who made her comofortable in her final hours. The family appreciates the care of her caretaker, Maria de Jesus Garcia, and our neighbor, Ester Cavazos. Words of Comfort can be sent to the family of Rosalie G. Warner at www.thomaegarza.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Thomae-Garza Funeral Directors, 395 S. Sam Houston, San Benito, Texas, (956) 399-1331.