Rose Seaman passed away on September 20, 2022 with husband Jerry and granddaughter Rosemarie King at her side following a 3 year battle with the effects of a stroke.

Rose was born to Henry and Catherine Soltysik in Manhattan, NY on February 7, 1938. The family moved to Rocky Point on Long Island, NY where she and brother John enjoyed summers on the beaches of Long Island Sound. She attended Port Jefferson High School, and graduated as a RN from the Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City.

During her high school senior class trip to Washington DC she met her future husband Gerald (Jerry) Seaman, a US Navy sailor, and also a graduate from Port Jeff High. They dated throughout nursing school, and were married in 1959. She worked as a nurse in Veterans Administration Psychiatric Hospitals treating veterans suffering from what is now known as PTSD while Jerry attended engineering school. Daughter Karen Rose was born in 1960, and sons Steven Henry and David Edward (both deceased) were born in 1967 and 1969.

Following graduation, the family moved to Pittsfield, Mass where Jerry had accepted a position as a Field Service Engineer with General Electric’s Ordnance Department. This position led to assignments in Groton, Conn, Little Creek, VA, Charleston, SC and Pascagoula, MS, and opened the door to a lifetime of travel. The next assignment was to Rota, Spain, and to get there, she and her family traveled to Iceland, and then Oslo, Norway, and on by train to Gothenberg, Sweden. There they picked up a pre-ordered Volvo from the factory, purchased camping equipment, and camped all the way through Europe to Puerto de Santa Maria, near the Rota navy base in Southern Spain. Over the next year and a half travels led throughout Spain, and to Italy, Monaco, Portugal, Gibraltar, and Morocco. The next assignment was to Florida where she and the family settled in Merritt Island. Her travels were not finished, though. The family bought the first of several motor homes, and throughout the years she visited all of the 50 states, most of the Canadian provinces and Mexican states, ranging all the way from Cancun, Mexico to Point Barrow in Alaska.

In 1976 Jerry resigned from GE and she and Jerry, along with Bill and Louise Parker, founded Cape Marina in Port Canaveral. She was an active participant in the business, functioning as Chief Financial Officer, and managing the Dockmaster’s office and the Marina store for many years. Her hard-core business acumen and financial insight were key to the success of the marina. She passed that on to Karen who continues now as General Manager at the marina. The boating business led to even more travels by boat throughout the Bahamas, and other trips to Puerto Rico, Aruba, and several of the Caribbean islands.

Rose pursued many craft interests throughout her life, but her final love was machine quilting. She was skilled and meticulous and produced beautiful quilts, many of which were given to friends and family. She belonged to several quilt guilds in Florida and NC and had many quilting buddies.

In 2008 her RV traveling days ended with the purchase of a small summer home in West Jefferson, NC. She and Jerry enjoyed the peace and tranquility of their secluded mountain cabin, and her only travels were seasonal trips back and forth to Merritt Island. In 2019 she suffered a stroke which severely limited her mobility. Although she fought long and hard, she was never able to recover. The family offers many thanks to the caregivers, especially Yoveanna Guererro, and Vitas Hospice who helped ease her final days.

She leaves her beloved husband, Jerry, daughter Karen, brother John, and many nieces, nephews, grand and great-grand children

No services are planned. Friends and family are invited to join a celebration of Rose’s life at Cape Marina in Port Canaveral from Noon until 4pm on Saturday, October 8, not to mourn, but to remember a life well lived.