Rosemary Madge DiFatta, Verizon worker

Rosemary Madge DiFatta, a retired Verizon worker and sports enthusiast, died of endometrial cancer July 22 at her Parkville home. She was 65.

Born in Baltimore, she was the daughter of Jack DiFatta, who owned a landscaping business, and his wife, Mary Lucille Rowland. She was a1971 graduate of Parkville Senior High School, where she played field hockey. She earned a bachelor’s degree at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

She joined the old Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. and retired from Verizon in 2009. She installed telephones and later worked with computers as a field technician.

She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland. She received help from HopeWell Cancer Support.

She was an early Ravens fan and had season tickets. She co-founded a women’s softball team, the Baltimore Blues, and competed at Baltimore County parks. She also developed, managed and played for a women’s flag football team, the Charm City Raiders.

She also liked to garden, dance and travel. She made three visits to the hometown of her grandparents in Cefalu, Sicily.

“She never complained and had a great attitude. She worked hard and she played hard. I was impressed at the lifelong friends she had,” said her wife, Judith Leiman, her companion for 14 years. They married in 2019.

A celebration of her life at will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 23 at Gertrude’s Restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art on Art Museum Drive.

In addition to her wife, survivors include two sisters, Jean DiFatta, of Parkville, and Jacqui Lampell, of Catonsville, and a niece and three nephews.