Rosemary Rackow

Rosemary Rackow Ham, 68, died at home with her family after a battle with liver cancer. She was born on June 1, 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio to Herman (Rocky) and Roberta (Galloway) Rackow. They preceded her in death.She graduated from Cuyahoga Height High School in June 1961, attended Bowling Green State University, until she transferred to St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing and Case Western University graduating in June 1965. She married Frederick Ham on August 21, 1965 and they moved to Albion, Michigan. Rosemary worked as a Registered Nurse at Sheldon Memorial Hospital and later Albion Community Hospital where she developed the first infection control and prevention program. In 1985 she went to Community Hospital in Battle Creek as Manager of Infection Control and consolidate the program from Leila, Community and Adventist (Fieldstone) Hospitals into Battle Creek Health Systems. She was recruited to W. A. Foote Hospital in 1992 for their infection prevention program. She received her Master's in Nursing from Grand Valley State University where she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau Honorary Society for Nursing. She did post-graduate work at Michigan State University and became a Nurse Practitioner in 1998 working in the office of Bruce S. Barbour, MD of Jackson, Michigan. She retired as a Nurse Practitioner from the Fountain Clinic in Marshall, Michigan in August 2007.Rosemary served on the Board of Directors of Michigan Society for Infection Control and Prevention for 25 years serving in various roles and retiring as the President in August 2009. She participated in the Battle Creek Community Leadership Program and graduated in 1994. She was named to the "Who's Who of American Women" 1979-80 edition for her work in diabetes education. She was past-president of the Homer Monday Club and served as Chairman of the Welcome to my Garden Tour in Marshall in 1996. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Marshal where she served several years on the Parish Council in the roles of Secretary and later as President. She was a member of the Albion Chapter of PEO.She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Fred; sons, David of Ann Arbor; Charles, his wife Eleanor (Budd) and two granddaughters Elizabeth and Caroline of Dexter, Michigan; "granddaughters Karlee and Lindsay Malone; her sister Robyn (Jim Nobili) of Cleveland, Ohio and a niece and nephew of Cincinnati, Ohio; one great nephew, and five great nieces of Cincinnati, Ohio and many close friends.Visitation will take place at the Craig K. Kempf Funeral Home on Tuesday from 2-8 pm with the family present to greet friends from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. Funeral services will take place at 11:00am Wednesday at Kempf Funeral Home. Interment will take place at Oakridge Cemetery in Marshall, Michigan. Luncheon will follow at Kempf Funeral Home Reception Hall.The family requests memorial contributions may be made to Fountain Clinic. Assistance is available at the funeral home.