Rosemary E. Vendena

Rosemary Elaine (Powers) Vendena of Orlando, Florida, died on April 25, 2026, at the age of 83.

She was born on September 8, 1942, in Lincoln, Kansas, to Maria Belle (King) Powers, a hairdresser, and Wilbur Harold Powers, an Army sergeant and car salesman. She was the eldest of two children, with a brother, Michael Powers. In 1957, her family moved to Greeley, Colorado. At Greeley High School, she became editor of the school newspaper and graduated as a National Honor Society student in 1960.

She married Kenneth Vendena in 1962, and they started a family in Arvada, Colorado, where they lived until 2008, when they relocated to Orlando, Florida. Kenneth preceded her in death in 2022.

She is survived by her two sons, Garrett Vendena of Kissimmee and Gregory Vendena of Copenhagen, Denmark. Also surviving are daughter-in-law Jessica Vendena of Kissimmee; grandsons Dominick Vendena of Orlando and Oskar Vendena of Copenhagen; and granddaughter Mai Vendena of Copenhagen.

Rosemary and Ken were happily married for 60 years. Their success was attributed not only to their love, but also to their ability to grow and evolve together. Rosemary began her adult life following the norms of the time as a dedicated and caring homemaker and mother. She also strove to integrate into Ken’s family by converting to Catholicism and mastering Italian-American cuisine. Like her mother, she was an enthusiastic and talented cook, and it was one of the ways she conveyed her love for family and friends.

Once her children grew older, she returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Metropolitan State College in 1987. She went on to build her professional career as a Certified Public Accountant. She served as a controller, accountant, and accounting manager for Bank Western; later as a Senior Accountant for the FDIC; as a tax accountant for H&R Block; and eventually owned her own auditing business.

Rosemary was an avid reader and had a curious mind from an early age. She continued to seek knowledge throughout her life, believed strongly in education, and enjoyed sharing her nearencyclopedic knowledge. The open-mindedness and compassion she cultivated were reflected in her worldview: she believed strongly in democracy, justice, and racial and gender equality. After retiring, she and Ken volunteered with the Kiwanis Club. She was especially passionate about empowering young women and girls, which was reflected in her dedicated work with the Orlando– Winter Park Branch of the AAUW (American Association of University Women). She was especially proud of her longstanding membership and involvement in AAUW, where she held several offices over the years and strove to make a difference in her community.

During her later years, she realized a long-standing dream by traveling throughout Europe and Asia with her lifelong partner, Ken. She cherished these experiences and warmly recounted the people and places they encountered.

Rosemary will be deeply missed, but her legacy of love and generosity lives on in her family, friends, and the countless others she touched with her full and remarkable life.

Memorial Services

Memorial services will be held on Friday, May 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home (Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions – Winter Park Chapel), 3806 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park, FL 32792.

Following the memorial, a reception for friends, family, and neighbors will be held at 12:00 p.m. at Westminster Baldwin Park in the C/D Amenities Room, 2789 Lake Baldwin Lane, Orlando, FL 32814.

As we celebrate her life well lived, we also wish to share her passion for cooking. We will bring her personally curated four-volume set of recipes to the reception at Baldwin Park. Guests are welcome to copy any recipe they may have enjoyed or heard others rave about. Cooking was one of Rosemary’s favorite ways to show her love, and we hope that spirit will live on. In the tradition of a true recipe exchange, we would be honored to receive favorite recipes from others to become part of her lasting culinary legacy.

Contributions

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to AAUW Branch Scholarship Fund at P. O. Box 884, Winter Park, FL 32790.

Additional Information

If you would like to share a memory with the family, please place it in the guest book below.

If you would like to register as a guest and view the services, the live stream link is listed below.

Live stream link:

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTc3NzkyODUxNDIxMTMyNDgmb25lcm9vbS1hZG1pbiZjb3B5X2xpbms=