Rosemary Easterday Rickman

Rosemary Easterday Rickman

Oct. 22, 1946-March 7, 2024

“Earth is the right place for love,” poet Robert Frost wrote in words befitting gentle Rosemary Rickman, who, in the graceful manner that she lived, bringing joyfulness to the many lives she touched, ascended earth into peaceful paradise on Thursday, March 7, 2024.

A devotee of nature who  agreed with poet Joyce Kilmer’s immortal words “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely a tree,” Mrs. Rickman, 77, of Brooklyn Park, Md., died at Gilchrist Center Towson hospice after a brave, years-long battle with multiple sclerosis.

A celebration of life is planned for Saturday, March 16, at 1 p.m. at the American Legion, 5526 Belle Grove Road, Baltimore. Friends and family are welcome.

The daughter of Miriam and James Easterday, she was born on Oct. 22, 1946, in the former South Baltimore Hospital. She was a lifelong resident of Baltimore.

She cherished flora and fauna, bringing to light  the words of poet William Blake, who wrote, “To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.”

Her relationship with animals transcended earthly encounters, as creatures great and small reacted to her with such mutual understanding that she once charmed a praying mantis she held in her hand. She had a way of making everyone she met, even strangers, feel exceptional.

Her family is remembering her for making the world’s best grilled cheese sandwiches, snacking on cheesecake, and preferring unsweetened iced tea without fresh lemon. She loved trees, listening to the rain, watching I Love Lucy, The ID channel and horror movies with her Grandkids while eating snacks.

Mrs. Rickman is survived by her husband, Jack Rickman of Brooklyn Park, who she married on April 10, 1965, two sons, Jack C. Rickman Jr., and Chris M. Rickman, both who are deceased, and daughter Patty D. Rickman of Millsboro and her partner, Susan Canfora. Mrs. Rickman is also survived by Maria Baldwin of Lewes, DE; and Cheryl Rickman of Pasadena, MD.

She is also survived by grandson Josh A. Rickman of Pasadena, Md., his wife Kacey Rickman and their children, Wyatt Christopher Rickman, Phoebe Jean Rickman, Jensen Wyatt Rickman, Ollie Rickman and Owen Rickman; granddaughter Kristyn M. Baldwin of Millsboro, Del., Granddaughter Lauren E. Baldwin of Towson, Md., grandson Jesse A. Rickman of Pasadena, Md., his girlfriend Carly Taylor and their daughter Isla Marie Rickman;  and  granddaughter Destini Violet-Marie Rickman of Millsboro.

She was also preceded in death by her sisters, Louise and Dawn, and several nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are in the care of Stallings Funeral Home of Pasadena, Md.