Rose Mary DeRosia, one of Flint's all-time great characters. "Rosie," as she was universally known, had one true love in life: singing. Her theme song was "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey," and for years she would belt it out anyplace, anytime especially if there was a band or a crowd nearby. Physically disabled and a survivor of 30 years in a mental institution, she was not homeless but spent much of her time on Flint streets, hitch-hiking to get around. Rosie got her moment in the limelight for her 68th birthday in 1987, when 500 people came out to hear her sing backed by some of Flint's top musicians in a concert put on just for her at the Windmill Place marketplace. Rosie died March 18, 1990, after being hit by a car on Dort Highway in Flint. Benefit concerts and fundraisers paid for a complete funeral and a headstone inscribed with the opening notes of "Bill Bailey"
Rose Mary DeRosia, one of Flint's all-time great characters. "Rosie," as she was universally known, had one true love in life: singing. Her theme song was "Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey," and for years she would belt it out anyplace, anytime especially if there was a band or a crowd nearby. Physically disabled and a survivor of 30 years in a mental institution, she was not homeless but spent much of her time on Flint streets, hitch-hiking to get around. Rosie got her moment in the limelight for her 68th birthday in 1987, when 500 people came out to hear her sing backed by some of Flint's top musicians in a concert put on just for her at the Windmill Place marketplace. Rosie died March 18, 1990, after being hit by a car on Dort Highway in Flint. Benefit concerts and fundraisers paid for a complete funeral and a headstone inscribed with the opening notes of "Bill Bailey"
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