A mother's embrace held many disabled

Rose Pellgrin was planning another Key Center holiday party when she died at 95.

By CHANDRA BROADWATER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 21, 2007

Rose Pellgrin visited her daughter, Marian, at Key Training Center in Inverness and was like a mother to many there. Rose Pellgrin died Sunday.
	[Maurice Rivenbark | Times (2005)]

ADVERTISEMENT [Maurice Rivenbark | Times (2005)] Rose Pellgrin holds photos of her daughter Marian, 52. For 27 years, Rose organized the Christmas party for the residents at the Key Training Center in Inverness, where Marian has lived since she was 15.

Rose Pellgrin loved the chicken noodle soup. That's what she always ordered when she stopped by the Harmony House Family Restaurant in Masaryktown.

Practically since the day the Mandreanu family opened its doors more than 12 years ago, Pellgrin became part of the family. She was always there, just before they opened at 3 p.m., talking to them about life.

As the mother of a daughter born with Down's syndrome at a time when a doctor's advice was to put those kind of children aside, the 95-year-old knew a lot about things like that.

It was that very soup that Pete and Mariana Mandreanu took to Pellgrin on Saturday night, the day before she died.

"I always called her Mother Teresa," Pete Mandreanu said Tuesday morning. He and his wife and sons, Adrian and Dan, prepared to close the restaurant for the next few days.

"She was like a mother to all of us," he said. "Just to think about all those things she's done. It's amazing."

Pellgrin moved to Hernando County 38 years ago from the Bronx, N.Y. Here, she worked as a teacher's aide in Brooksville for 12 years until she retired at the age of 82.

For 27 years, she organized the Christmas party for the residents at the Key Training Center in Inverness. That's where Marian, her 52-year-old daughter, has lived since she was 15.

Through her weekly visits to Citrus County, Pellgrin became a mother to the many of the other developmentally disabled residents who live there.

She thought about them so much that she usually stopped by Harmony House to take them some soup. She usually began planning the year's holiday festivities months in advance, meticulously searching for the perfect gifts for Marian and her friends.

All the while, she blew her trademark kisses into the air.

This year, she started planning eight months ago. Key Center spokeswoman Melissa Walker said that she recently got in touch with Pellgrin to see if she needed any help.

"She almost had everything ready to go and just had a few final touches to deal with," Walker said. "We're still going to have the party this Christmas, but it's not going to be the same. Certainly, she'll be there in spirit but it's just not going to be the same without Rose."

Key Center director Chet Cole met Pellgrin about the time Marian came to live at the group home about 30 years ago. He described her as having a "heart as big as the outdoors."

That's why Adrian Mandreanu said his father called her "Mother Teresa." She always offered so much of herself to everyone else and never asked for much in return, he said.

Pellgrin was so meticulous when it came to donating her time to others, that she pre-planned her funeral so no one else would have to worry about it. His family hopes to continue her Christmas tradition. "Not just for Marian, but for all of the people there," he said. "A lot of them don't have family left."

Walker said that Pellgrin talked a lot with her daughter about what it might be like when she died. While the news is still shocking, she said, Marian is holding up well.

The Mandreanus had no idea when they brought Pellgrin her beloved golden broth Saturday night that it would be the last they would see her. The night before, they took her to Spring Hill Regional Hospital after she called to say she didn't feel well. In the few days she stayed there, she professed that she wasn't a fan of the hospital's food.

Before they left, Pete Mandreanu had the urge to take a peek back in her room in the intensive-care unit. Like she always did, she put her fingers to her lips and blew a kiss.

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com or 352 848-1432.

A funeral mass for Rose Pellgrin is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at St. Theresa Catholic Church located at 1107 Commercial Way in Spring Hill. Entombment will follow at Florida Hills Memorial Gardens. Turner Funeral Homes, which can be contacted at 796-3588, will coordinate the services.

Fast facts

Funeral service

A funeral Mass for Rose Pellgrin is scheduled for 10 a.m. today at St. Theresa Catholic Church at 1107 Commercial Way in Spring Hill. Entombment will follow at Florida Hills Memorial Gardens. Turner Funeral Homes, which can be contacted at 796-3588, will coordinate the services.

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 21:17:57]