Rosalie A. Philbrick

Mrs. Rosalie A. Philbrick, 80, of Mont Vernon, NH passed away peacefully at her home on May 18, surrounded by her loving family.

Rosalie was born on July 16, 1943, in Gardner, Massachusetts, the daughter of John and Vivian Britton. As a child, Rosalie attended Jaffrey Elementary and Middle School and Lady of Monadnock Academy in Jaffrey, NH before graduating in 1961. Shortly after, she was accepted into the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston, MA, one of only 10 women in a class of 106 students.  During her time at the College of Pharmacy, Rosalie worked the soda fountain inside Dyer’s Old Fashioned Pharmacy in Milford, NH, which was where she first met Frank “Skip” Philbrick. Rosalie and Skip married in October of 1964, and have resided in Mont Vernon ever since. After graduating from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1966, her professional career as a local pharmacist took off; over the span of the next 50 years she would become a welcome face behind the pharmacist’s counter of Boulter’s Pharmacy and Dyer’s in Milford, NH, Dyer’s Drug Store in Peterborough, NH, and Hollis Pharmacy in Hollis, NH. Rosalie took great pride in her work, and enjoyed serving her community at each location her career brought her to.

Her career as a pharmacist was second only to her role as a mother. As their home in Mont Vernon was built around them, Rosalie and Skip began to grow their large family. As both a homesteader and hobby farmer’s wife, Rosalie raised her children with an appreciation for hard work and simple living. At home, she spent many hours gardening, canning, and sewing for her children and large extended family.

Rosalie also had a passion for woodworking and crafting, and began her own business, Cellar Craft Woodworks, from the basement of her home. As the years went by, Rosalie and her sisters-in-law would continue to grow the business together, eventually setting up shop elsewhere on Rosalie’s property in an existing barn. That shop was quickly filled with examples of Rosalie’s work, from beautiful wooden cabinets to the smallest wooden ornaments. Rosalie would create, fill, and process orders of her work for painters and craftspeople from all across the United States.

As her children grew older and began families of their own, Rosalie became a grandmother and eventual great-grandmother to 20 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. Rosalie’s tremendous heart was never more at home than when spending countless hours with her family, especially quality time spent with her grandchildren. Over the years, she taught them to paint, draw, sew, quilt, and play card games around the dining room table and took them on nature walks and trips to the Wilton Town Hall Theater. An avid reader herself, she always encouraged her grandchildren to use their imaginations and was a fierce supporter of their creative endeavors. At Christmas time, everyone in the family went home with a hand-knit hat, a pair of gloves, or a homespun ornament. Rosalie poured her love into the things she made, and her homemade gifts to her family remain cherished to this day.

Rosalie leaves behind her loving husband of 59 years, Frank “Skip” Philbrick Jr., of Mont Vernon, her son Hunter Philbrick and wife Tina of Milford, NH, her daughter Jennifer Grassett and her husband Kurtis of Hancock, NH, her daughter Heather Davis of Mont Vernon, NH, her son Jeremy Philbrick of Milford, NH, her son Joseph Philbrick and his wife Nancy of Spring, TX, her son Jared Philbrick and his wife Cheyenne of Milford, NH, her stepson Frank “Bud” Philbrick, and his wife Debbie of Milford, NH, as well as numerous loving grandchildren, great-grandchildren, a brother, cousins, nieces, and nephews. She is predeceased by her mother, Vivian Britton, her sister, Vivian Britton, her brother, John Britton, Jr., her father, John Britton, Sr, her grandson, Liam Philbrick, and great-grandson Jesiah Medina.

Over the course of her 80-year life, Rosalie touched the hearts of many, through her work as a pharmacist, a craftswoman, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. Her tremendous heart, her creativity, and her passion will be sorely missed by those who have been lucky enough to love her.

Funeral services are private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, Attn: Donor Services, 1(800)-822-6344 or online at stjude.org, or to Save the Children, 501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825, Attn: Donor Services, 1(800)-728-3843 or online at savethechildren.org