The Passing of a Much-Loved Rosie the Riveter

Post #21 – Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story by Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett

Each life story is important. Those of you who follow me on http://womensmemoirs.com, the second website that Kendra Bonnett and I maintain, know that helping women tell their stories is our passion. This is a passion that grew out of the extensive interviews conducted for our book Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story. That was when I fully realized the value of looking back at our lives and sharing these stories.

Although most of the sharing of women’s stories takes place on our Women’s Memoirs website, we like to feature stories on this site as well. Last year, I received an email from Norma Horton Bryant who purchased our Rosie the Riveter Legacy bandana. She and her sister were on their way to England to participate in a World War II Memorial Weekend. They were going as Rosie the Riveters to celebrate their mother’s contribution to the war effort and to share her story with others.

When they returned, they wrote about their mother Marian Perkins Horton as well as their memorable trip to England. They even sent photos. With great pleasure, we published that story. Click Here to read it.

This morning, I received an email from Marian Perkins Horton’s granddaughter, Heather Fanguy. She wrote: “Our ‘Nanny’ Marian passed away from a heart attack yesterday afternoon. Thank you for including her story in your work. Sharing her life has given us great pride, peace and comfort during her struggle with Alzheimer’s and especially now during our time of loss.”

We extend our sympathy to the Horton family.

It is our hope that we all remember the value of our life stories and find ways to record and share them with others.