Rose Fortuna Matarese

Rose Matarese was hired as a Library Page at the Torrance Civic Center Library almost to the day I was hired as a Reference Librarian in June 1981. I was not surprised when she was promoted to Junior Library Clerk I and then to JLC II–she was a conscientious clerical worker, double-checking with me when she had questions about how to file the updates to the Moody\’s and Standard & Poor\’s looseleaf business services, wanting to make sure she was filing them in the right place and not weeding pages that should be retained. Rose took an active interest in the business of the employees\’ association during my many years of tenure as an officer. We shared an Italian heritage, and an interest in health foods and vegetarian cooking. I admired her greatly for taking charge of her health and going to Dr. Whitaker\’s clinic when she was diagnosed with cancer. She even had the willpower to decline politely the doughnuts I brought on occasion to the staff lounge. Rose always had a smile and an enthusiastic greeting for me when I saw her day after day at Civic Center Library, and her greeting became even livelier in recent years after I moved to Walteria Library and could only pop into the workroom once a week. Rose\’s stories about the way things used to be in her neighborhood, chicken farms and all, were fascinating. It was always a pleasure to see Lou when he drove up with the dogs in the station wagon to pick up his wife. I count myself blessed to have known and worked with Rose Matarese. Philip Johnston Ross, Senior Librarian, Walteria Library