Rose Mary (Mesi) Bates, age 91, passed away February 16, 2015 at St. Ann's after a brief illness. Preceded in death by her parents Santamaria and Giovanni Mesi, sisters Josephine Catalfina, Margaret Clark, Dorothy Ceckitti, Jean Rapp, brothers Jess and Joe Mesi. Beloved mother of Debra Schiller; grandmother of Brittani Schiller and Angela (Charlie) Martin; great-grandmother of Chas, Rhyse, Greer, Creux, Luxe, Gates and baby Ruehle Martin. Also survived by brother-in-law, Charles Clark; Godson, Bob (Sharon) Ceckitti; and many nieces and nephews. Rosemary graduated from Central High School and retired from the City of Columbus. She was creatively talented which included songwriting, poetry for publications, and cooking. Her real passion though was dancing. She was recognized as one of Central Ohio's best jitterbug dancers winning numerous 1st place awards at dance contests held at the Neil House, Arthur Murray and Jimmy Rawlins studios. One included a trip to New York City to compete. Rose was a member of the USO dance ensemble with her sister Margaret entertaining WWII troops in the late 40s. As a self-taught piano player, her achievements included recognition from Billboard Magazine, receiving a Certificate of Award for Achievement in Song Writing for the record "Fooled Again". After publication of her poetry, she received Certificate of Awards from the National Poetry Labor of Congress. She was a past member of the Westerville and Dublin Art Councils. Through out her life, Rose was known as a very giving person who had a supreme zest for life and family. Her beautiful smile and warmth made perfect strangers perfect friends. Because of her strong nature, she was able to overcome many obstacles in her later years. But her biggest battle was the ramifications of pneumonia while in the hospital. Although she fought hard to the end, too many odds were stacked against her. Family will receive friends from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, February 20, 2015 at the JOHN QUINT TREBONI FUNERAL HOME, 1177 W. Fifth Avenue, Columbus, where her funeral will be on Saturday at 10 a.m. Entombment to follow at Resurrection Chapel (within Resurrection Cemetery), 9571 N. High Street, Lewis Center 43085. Condolences may be sent via www.johnquint.com. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.