Rosemarie Cherry: The Woman Who Held the Cherry Family Together.
Rose Cherry married Don in the 1950s and stayed at his side through 16 years of minor league hockey, a Stanley Cup final and the birth of Coach's Corner. She died in 1997, and her name still stands over a children's hospice in Ontario.
Related family pages: Don Cherry · Luba Cherry · Cindy Cherry · Tim Cherry
- Married
- 1957
- Husband
- Don Cherry
- Children
- Cindy & Tim
- Died
- 1997
Quick answers about Rosemarie Cherry
- Who: Don Cherry's first wife.
- Married: From 1957 until her death in 1997, about 40 years.
- Children: Cindy Cherry and Tim Cherry.
- Died: 1997, after an illness.
- Legacy: Rose Cherry's Home for Kids, a children's hospice in Milton, Ontario.
Who was Rosemarie Cherry?
Quick answer: Rosemarie 'Rose' Cherry was Don Cherry's first wife. They married in 1957 and had two children, Cindy and Tim. She died in 1997.
Rose married Don when he was a young defenceman with no guarantee of a paycheque past the season. For 16 years he bounced around the minors, and Rose moved the family town to town with him.
Don has told the story many times of Rose keeping the house running on very little. When he finally got the Boston Bruins job in 1974, he has always said it was as much her win as his.
Her death in 1997
Quick answer: Rose Cherry died in 1997 after an illness. Don has spoken publicly about how hard the loss hit him.
Her death came while Don was at the peak of his fame on Hockey Night in Canada. He kept working, but he has admitted on air that the years right after were the lowest of his life.
Rose Cherry's Home for Kids
Rose's name lives on in Milton, Ontario at Rose Cherry's Home for Kids, a hospice for children with life-limiting illness. Don and the family backed the project, and it has been a focus of Cherry family charity work ever since.
That is the part of the story fans bring up most when Rose's name comes up. It is a quiet legacy for a woman who never wanted the microphone.
Rose and the family today
Her children are Cindy Cherry and Tim Cherry. Don remarried in 1999 to Luba Cherry, and the family has always spoken about Rose with warmth rather than as a closed chapter.
Rose Cherry's Home for Kids, Milton, Ontario
Local quick answer: Rose Cherry's Home for Kids is a children's hospice in Milton, Ontario, named in memory of Rosemarie Cherry.
Milton sits west of Mississauga in Halton Region, about a 40 minute drive from downtown Toronto. The hospice serves families from across the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario.
The Cherry family tree
Frequently asked questions
Who was Rosemarie Cherry?
When did Don Cherry marry Rose?
When did Rose Cherry die?
How many children did Rose Cherry have?
What is Rose Cherry's Home for Kids?
Did Don Cherry remarry after Rose?
Was Rose Cherry involved in hockey?
Where did Rose and Don Cherry live?
Why is Rose Cherry still talked about?
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