This is the story of Edith Rose Galiber, nee Lewis. Edith Rose was a beautiful person who was loved, is missed dearly and will always be cherished. Her grandchildren called her “Grandma G,” and others dear to her called her “Edie.” She was an amazing wife, a loving mother, an exceptional fundraiser, a tennis enthusiast, and a baker of awesome rum cakes and pineapple upside-down cakes.
The Edith Rose story began June 20, 1932, as the eighth of nine children born to William G. Lewis Sr. and Edith Rose Monsanto Lewis. Edith Rose was born on St. Thomas in the Long Bay area. The family home was in Long Bay on the old “Lover’s Lane” road (now known as William G. Lewis Sr. Drive). She made lifelong friends including her best friend, Carmen Sibilly. She was the Class of 1951’s valedictorian of the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral School. At the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minn., she experienced snow for the first time and completed a four-year nursing degree.
Edith Rose was very proud to be from St. Thomas, especially since that is where she met the love of her life, Dr. Andre Galiber Sr. Edith Rose and Andre had a whirlwind summer ‘56 courtship and then married in the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral on Sept. 7. They relocated to Washington D.C., where Andre completed his last year of medical school. They made their way back to their Virgin Islands and then settled on St. Croix in 1963. Edith Rose and Andre spent many hardworking years on St. Croix raising six children and building the family medical practice while Edith Rose worked as a nurse in the Public Health section of Department of Health.
Edith Rose was renowned for her tenacious fundraising skills and her willingness to help any community effort. Edith and Andre hosted memorable house parties that celebrated milestones such as family weddings, The Friends of Demark, Howard University Alumni Association-VI, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, VI Medical Society and other events. Edith Rose was a stickler for doing the right thing. She lived by the motto that “anything worth doing was worth doing right.” Andre and Edith Rose fully retired from government service by 1986. After this they fulfilled their dream to travel and to collect art. They went to Panama, Denmark and Switzerland. Their journey ended when Andre passed away from cancer in 2000, 17 days after celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary.
Edith Rose’s grandchildren were her pride and joy. Time spent at Grandma G’s house was extraordinary for her grands and even more so when celebrating her Christmas Second Day at her home. She always had something special under her Christmas tree for each grandchild. The loss of her true love, Andre, was too much to bear. Her children, grandchildren, friends and Patches and Dimples, her faithful and devoted shelter pets, gave her comfort and joy.
Edith Rose enjoyed working part-time in the family radiology practice. Edith Rose, Millie de Chabert, Imelda Dizon and Anne Thompson where the “Golden Girl” group that walked through Judith’s Fancy for regular exercise. Edith Rose fundraised for the St. Mary’s Catholic School, Catholic Charities and the Diocese. She also established a nursing scholarship at the University of the Virgin Islands and, with a grant, commissioned the Charlotte Kimelman Cancer Institute to build a library named after Andre and her. Edith Rose was a devout Catholic who attended mass daily.
Edith Rose passed peacefully on the morning of Oct. 28, at the age of 86. Loved ones who cleared the path for Edith Rose are her father, William G. Lewis Sr.; mother, Edith Rose Lewis (nee Monsanto); husband, Andre A. Galiber Sr.; daughter, Lisa Marie; her sisters: Winifred Morch and Genevieve Lima; and her brothers: Warren, Winthrop and Keith Lewis.
Loved ones who will miss Edith Rose until they meet again are her children: Andre (Magdaline Elizabeth), Angelo, Cecile (John de Jongh Jr.), Dante (Yvonne) and Marcel (Wilma); her sister, Clarice Joseph; her brothers: William Lewis Jr. and Wilbur Lewis (Maria); her daughter-in-love, Henna O. Roebuck; her grandchildren: Amanda Galiber Franklin (Zachary), Amelia, Angelo II, Nicole, William Lanclos, Antonio Andre, Anhel, Dominique, Marcel II, Chelsea and Javier Galiber, Isla Rose Vera (Diego), Che Forgeron (Riztoni), John III (Jessica), Rene (Liam Klotzbach) and Julian de Jongh, and Tiphanie McGarrah and Zachery Gundel; and her great-grandchildren: Mosiah, Irie and Nazareth McGarrah, Che Forgeron Jr., John Miguel de Jongh and Amada Rose Franklin; life-long friend, Carmen Sibilly; and best friends: Imelda Dizon, Mildred de Chabert, Rita Schuster, Anne Thompson and Barbara Berkeley. There are many cousins, nieces and nephews too numerous to mention.
The Galiber family members express their thanks and appreciation to the excellent staff at the Herbert Grigg Home for the Aged and the staff at the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital. The family is especially thankful for the care, kindness and compassion of Dr. Hwo Park and Dr. Angel Lake.
Tributes will take place at 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 12, at Holy Cross Catholic Church immediately preceding the funeral service, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate in the name of Edith Rose Galiber to “The Friends of Herbert Grigg.”
Condolences may be sent to tributesforedithrosegaliber@gmail.com for the funeral booklet. The deadline is Nov. 4, 2018.
I will never forget the many kindnesses extended to me and my wife by Edith Rose and her extended family, especially Viola Petersen. RIP.