Rose Marie Marino Easterly died in Severna Park, Maryland, on Oct. 20, 2025, at the age of 91. She was born to Joseph Marino and Frances Bissi Marino in Crystal City, Missouri, on Nov. 28, 1933.

A lover of languages, she earned a bachelor's degree in French at St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, as well as a Ph.D. in Spanish literature. She also received a master's degree in theological studies from Notre Dame Catholic Seminary, in New Orleans, Louisiana. As the daughter of Sicilian immigrants, she was also fluent in Italian.

She taught French and Spanish in various high schools and colleges, including Southern University in New Orleans, where she met her husband, Ellis Easterly; and Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland, where she began all her classes with a prayer in the subject language.

Rose Marie would visit her grandparents in Italy and spent two years in Spain, teaching English, and studied in France. She lived in Israel for one year while her husband studied at Tel Aviv University.

A kind woman of great faith, she was a member of various Catholic parishes, where she led Bible studies, lectured, and was a Eucharistic minister. During her time in Baltimore, she was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Towson, Maryland. Prior to her passing, she was a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

She is survived by her devoted husband of 52 years, Ellis Easterly, a daughter, Rebecca, wife of Mickey O'Connor; her granddaughters, Katarina, Kayla, Mila, and Alexa Easterly; and her nieces and nephew, Carolyn Quay, Fran McDermott, and Joey Marino. Her brother, Vincent Marino, her son, Joel Easterly, and two granddaughters, Marisa and Alayah Easterly, preceded her in death.

A funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of the Fields Roman Catholic Church, 1070 Cecil Ave S, Millersville, MD, on October 27 at 11:30 am ET. A livestream of the mass may be viewed via https://www.youtube.com/@ourladyofthefields In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to https://www.alz.org.