Rosemary Valant

Rosemary “Rosie” Neal Valant, 90, was born on November 20, 1935, and entered the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 25, 2025.

Rosie passed peacefully on the morning of November 25, 2025, just five days after her 90th birthday celebration, in Franklin, Indiana, at the Indiana Masonic Home.

Born in Madison Heights, Michigan, and raised in Royal Oak, Rosie always considered herself a daughter of Detroit. Her early years were marked by hardship, including her father’s serious industrial injury before her birth and the death of her sister, Betty, at a young age. Growing up in a home shaped by the Great Depression and the challenges of that era, Rosie took on significant responsibilities of care from an early age and lived in the shadow of labor strikes, World War II air‑raid drills, and the auto plants that defined her community.

Rosie worked for Chrysler Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, where she met her future husband, Jay Valant. They married in 1958. Their first son, Laurence, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. The family later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a new opportunity with Avco, and soon after relocated to Richmond, Indiana, where their second son, Tony, was born and where the Valant family made their home until 2017.

Much of Rosie’s life was spent caring for others—within her family, her home, and her community. She devoted herself to homemaking and keeping a loving household: parenting, gardening, caring for numerous pets, cleaning and organizing, exceptional cooking and baking, house maintenance, cheering on her family and favorite sports teams, and reading voraciously. In many ways, the defining theme of her life was caretaking, but others will remember her incredible cooking and baking skills.

Later in life, Rosie came to a personal faith in Jesus Christ, and over time that faith grew strong and became an important source of comfort, hope, and strength for her. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, participated in Rock Solid Ministries and Bible Study Fellowship, and was involved with the Richmond International Club.

Rosie was preceded in death by her parents, Reginald and Theresa Neal; her sister, Betty; and her husband, Jay, who passed away in 2016. She is survived by her sons, grandchildren, and great‑grandchildren: Son: Larry Valant; grandson Eric (Natalie) Valant and great‑grandchildren Benjamin and Macey; and Son: Tony (Erin) Valant and granddaughters Paula (Tobias) Valant and Sophia Valant.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, December 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Webster Cemetery in Wayne County, Indiana. Memorial contributions may be made in memory of Rosie Valant to One Mission Society, 941 Fry Road, P.O. Box A, Account #904991, Greenwood, IN 46142, or at www.onemissionsociety.org/give, Account #904991 “to missionary support”.