Funeral Service Details

Visitation
Sunday, November 9, 2025
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rosary starts at 6:00 p.m.
Hilgenfeld Mortuary Chapel
120 E. Broadway
Anaheim, California 92805

Funeral Mass
Monday, November 10, 2025
12:00 p.m.
St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church
2050 W Ball Rd
Anaheim, California 92804

Interment
Monday, November 10, 2025
Immediately After Mass
Cathedral Memorial Gardens
13280 W Chapman Ave
Garden Grove, California 92840

Reception
Monday, November 10, 2025
2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Orange County
11999 Harbor Boulevard
Garden Grove, California 92840

Obituary
Rose Marie Opyrchal
Resident of Anaheim
March 22, 1938 – October 13, 2025

Rose, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, Godmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend passed away peacefully on October 13, 2025, anniversary of the “Miracle of the Sun” in Fatima, Portugal, at the age of 87 in Anaheim.

She was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana to Margaret Louise (Boland) and George Francis Cooney. She was baptized at Ss. Peter & Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis.

She was the eldest of 12 children, which always gave her a sense of pride and joy. She was named after a song near and dear to her father, from a popular operetta at the time, with the lyrics of, “Rose Marie, I love you. I’m always thinking of you.”

The family moved to Kansas City, Missouri for a short time, where Rose remembered living on an upper floor in a high-rise apartment building and watching a parade with confetti, when World War II ended. They moved to Detroit in 1946 when Rose was 8 years old, where she attended St. Cecilia School through 12th grade.

Growing up, Rose enjoyed helping with her many younger siblings. She took the responsibility of setting an example for them very seriously, and they all looked up to her and loved her very much. She liked playing jacks, roller skating and ice skating. As a teen, Rose worked at the dime store, ‘S. S. Kresge.’ She was a Brownie, Girl Scout and Senior Scout. She saved her pins and sash in a very special place and would sometimes break into songs that she remembered from those formative years. One of her most humbling honors was when she was chosen as the ‘May Queen’ in her senior year, for the annual May Crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Cecilia Church.

Rose received full-ride scholarships to attend an all-girls Catholic college, Marygrove, in Detroit. She graduated in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in social work.

She worked as a clerk in the medical records department of a hospital, as a clerk at an insurance agency and then in the foster care department for Catholic Charities of Detroit.

On May 13, 1960, “Feast of Our Lady of Fatima,” Rose met Mitchell Opyrchal at a dance at Gesu Church Hall in Detroit. He was a Detroit native who’d recently served four years in the U.S. Air Force. Mitch presented her with an engagement ring in February 1961. Soon, he accepted a job in Southern California with Autonetics, a division of North American Aviation Corp. They wrote letters every day and spoke on the phone every two weeks, though they didn’t see each other for nine months, until shortly before their wedding. (Mitch didn’t have a phone, so he had to call from a pay phone, back when long-distance calls were expensive!) They took a Marriage Correspondence Course with 15 lessons and a test after each, which helped them prepare for marriage.

They were married on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1961, at St. Cecilia’s Church. Rose was the only daughter, of the six, that her father walked down the aisle, due to his early death. Their reception was at ‘Maria’s Restaurant,’ which was normally closed on Thanksgiving Day, but opened especially for them.

In those days, there were ads in the Detroit newspapers to drive new cars to California. So, for their honeymoon, Mitch and Rose were thrilled to drive one of the very popular brand-new 1962 Thunderbirds as a ‘Drive Away Car’ along Route 66.

After living briefly in Lakewood, California, they settled in Anaheim and raised five children.

Mitch and Rose have been faithful parishioners of St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church for 61 years, where all five children attended school through 8th grade. She served as an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister to the homebound for many years. She had an unwavering faith in Jesus and a special devotion to our Blessed Mother, which she desired to instill in her little ones. She often called on St. Anthony, or said, "Jesus Was Lost & Found," when something was missing.

Rose stayed home to raise her young family, which was her priority and her delight. One fond memory is how she’d have the radio on in the kitchen and suddenly do a little soft shoe tap dance. She loved making up little jingles and sang around the house often. Her middle names could’ve been cheerful and joyful. What a beautiful example for her children!

She was a support to other mothers throughout her life, whether she introduced them to La Leche League or gave them St. Gerard medals and holy cards.

In 1991, she took a part-time job as a switchboard operator at West Anaheim Medical Center, where she worked for 22 years. She really enjoyed her boss and co-workers, and she loved joshing with the security staff.

She was very proud of her thirteen grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She loved to shop and spoiled them every chance she got. She always had coloring books, crossword puzzles or Hot Wheels in her purse to entertain them at restaurants or on outings.

Rose was well-known and admired for her annual Christmas poems that accompanied her family photo each year. Poetry was one of her talents.

Rose kept Hallmark in business. She never forgot a birthday, anniversary or special event. She could’ve opened her own shop, with the number of cards that she kept on hand, always ready to send one, even if it was just to say, ‘Thinking of You.’ She also loved calling people on their birthday and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them.

Her hobbies were knitting, baking, crafting, playing Scrabble, caring for her rose bushes and her beloved canary bird bush. She loved to dance, and she read the newspaper comics every day.

Her girlfriends were one of her greatest treasures. She would spend hours on the phone. She enjoyed playing Bunco for many years. If a friend liked her spritz cookies, they were likely to receive a cookie press & the recipe to go with it one day.

Rose was a people-person and developed special connections with the neighbors, the mailman, the Fuller Brush salesman, the Avon Lady, the Watkins door-to-door salesman, the Bookmobile Man, the grocery store clerks, the bank tellers, the shoe store owner and everyone in between.

She also had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to laugh. Her specialty was double entendre. She loved to play on words.

Her motto was to always be kind. She had great compassion. Most importantly, she was an extremely selfless woman who was always thinking of others.

Rose is survived by her husband Mitchell of 63 years, children Susan (Rick), Steven, Kevin (Sarah), Sharon (Kevin) and Justin (Kate); grandchildren Jeffrey, Christopher, Catherine, Rachel, Robert, Chris, Lance, Grace, Graham, Jake, Lindsay, Camille and Adam; great-grandchildren Claire, Cadence, Cecilia, Daniel, David, Hazel, Mitchell and Scarlett; siblings Jack (Brenda), Mary, Marge, Colleen (Dana), Teresa (Mel), Geri (Mark), Bill (Loraine); sisters-in-law Fay, Maria and Elaine, plus many cousins, nieces, nephews and Godchildren.

She was preceded in death by her infant son, Gerard, two unborn infants, her parents, and her brothers Tom, Dan, Dennis and David.

Rose will be dearly missed by all! When the saints go marching in, O Lord, she wants to be in that number, when the saints go marching in.