Carmen Rosa Freire Rawls

In Memory of
Carmen Rosa Freire Rawls
1911-2014

Carmen Rosa Freire Rawls, 103, passed away on Saturday, October 25, 2014 of natural causes.
Born in Cidra, Puerto Rico, to Pedro Freire Baldrich and Ramona Garced Santos, she was the smallest of four girls. Her older sisters loved her very much. She grew up in a happy, musical, and spiritual environment.
Carmen Rosa lived in the town of Cidra, in the mountains south of San Juan. When Carmen was about 7, the family moved to Rio Piedras, P.R., so her older sisters could attend the university. She attended the local public school.
When her older sister Monchita married and settled in Miramar, a neighborhood close to Old San Juan, the family moved with them. At that time she went to school in Old San Juan.
As she grew and the 1929 Depression started, she finished high school with a secretarial degree at Central High School, in Santurce, and immediately was hired by Mr. Robert Prann, Civil Engineer, with offices in Miramar, who built many of the old bridges you may see when going from San Juan to Mayaguez.
As fate was to have it, a young Fletcher Rawls started working in the company and one day, unable to go to lunch with another young lady in the office, invited Carmen to lunch. That was the spark that quickly turned into a wedding six months later on June 11, 1943. The honeymoon must have something unforgettable going to Caneel Bay, in the Virgin Islands, sailing and speaking in English with her new husband. Carmen at that time did not know how to swim or speak much English. The first son, Fletcher, was born in September of 1944, in Washington, D.C. while her husband served in the Navy. When WWII finished, the couple moved back to Puerto Rico. Then Carmen was born in 1946, Pedro in 1949, and Robert in 1953.
Upon her return to Puerto Rico, she went back to Mr. Prann's office and worked there until Robert was born.
Carmen was a very cheerful, loving person. She was very sociable and liked to play cards: bridge and canasta with other couples, to dance, and travel; but her main dedication was to her family: her husband and the children.
In her later years, she lived in a condo in Miramar and was always very welcoming and cooking for everyone. She had a few recipes which were everyone's favorites, like the lasagna, cannelloni, the frosting in her cakes, and lemon meringue pie.
In 1998 she moved to Orlando to live with her daughter Carmen. She participated of local events, spent days at the Peggy & Phillip Crosby Center for Older Adults in Winter Park, and later lived in the Aiden Springs Assisted Living. In the last three years of her life, she lived in private care.
While living in Florida, Carmen enjoyed being with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
We want to thank her caregivers through these last years: Addy, Wanda, and especially Marlene Olin and her husband Dany. Her longevity in part was due to the excellent and loving care she received from these special angels.
In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to Caritas to aid the persecuted Christians in the Middle East, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, or the charity of your choice.
Funeral Mass with cremains will be held on Friday, November 14, 2014, at 2:00 P.M. at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, 113 Lockwood Blvd., Oviedo, FL 32765. Reception to follow in the residence of Carmen & Tomas Morell, 812 Kingsbridge Drive, Oviedo, FL 32765.
In November she will be buried in Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery, in Isla Verde, to be together with her parents and sisters.