Rosalia Acklin Obituary

Rosalia Spengler Acklin (Sulin), a.k.a. Mom, Rose, Rosie, Grandma, and “Grandma A” peacefully passed on June 5, 2026 at 3:55 a.m., at Indiana University North Hospital in Carmel, Indiana, from aggressive lung cancer, even though she was a nonsmoker.

She shared her preliminary diagnosis on Mother’s Day with close family just after finishing a delicious meal, which she insisted on providing. The day before, at her grandson’s high school graduation party, she kept the focus on the celebration of the graduate, and prepared food that proved to be among the most popular at the party.

It is impossible to describe Rose without recounting her family’s significant history. Her mother, Maria, was widowed in WWII with three children: Anna, Johann and Paul Beck. In November 1944, the German women in her village of Starcevo, Yugoslavia, were forced to leave their families to work in Russian labor camps. For three years, Maria was captive in the camp while her children were left in the care of their grandparents. After a minor injury which was intentionally aggravated by following the instructions of a doctor who she bribed with a piece of jewelry she had hidden in her clothing, she was allowed to leave Russia for treatment. She set out on foot to find her children. Bits of information from a network of family and friends she met on her travels led her to them. First, she learned Anna was working on a farm in Austria, and Maria traveled to Spittal an der Drau to reunite with her daughter. Anna, like her mother, used jewelry - earrings she had been gifted at her baptism, to bribe her way out of captivity and escape from a labor camp in Gakova to Austria. Johann and Paul had a different fate. They spent the years after the war in a camp in Rudolfsgnad which was established to starve the elderly and children. Thousands died but the brothers survived. Once Maria was established in Austria, she was able to reunite with her sons through the help of the International Red Cross. In Austria, she met her second husband, Ilija (later known as Eli), who had also come to Austria as a displaced person after fleeing Ukraine in his 20s. In order to avoid serving in Stalin’s Army, Ilija fled to Siberia to work in the coal mines. After WWII, he made his way to Austria where he and Maria met and married. As displaced persons, they were granted permission to immigrate to the United States. On July 19, 1951, Ilija, Maria, Johann, Paul and 5-month-old Rose boarded an aircraft and landed in New York where they spent their first day at Ellis Island. They brought with them 47 pounds of luggage and 13 dollars, 43 cents. They had 1 spoon, 1 fork, and 1 pillow. Anna, her husband Franz, and their children arrived soon after.

The families settled in South Bend after being sponsored by the First United Methodist Church on Main Street and the Palmer family. Ilija was given a job at Reliable Dairy and a furnished home on Locust Road was provided for the family. Later they bought their home on Oak Road paying cash. They lived a frugal life, planted a big garden, canned fruits and vegetables, and were rich in love of God and family. Rose’s beloved younger sister Fay was born in South Bend.

Maria and Ilija were the proudest American citizens. Ilija often remarked that each time he entered a grocery store in the United States he could not avoid shedding a tear. The bread aisles that never went bare were overwhelming.

Rose graduated from Washington High School in 1969. She was an officer for DANK, the Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress, a social club. As a senior, she was named the Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow. As a graduate, her dream was to be a mom. And a mom, she sure was.

While working at Notre Dame in the administrative offices, she met her husband James Timothy Acklin, Sr. (Jim). During his studies at Notre Dame, Jim broke his leg in a skiing mishap in La Hunta, Colorado. As part of her job at Notre Dame, Rose drove the golf cart that took him around campus. They married in South Bend, and began a loving journey together across all parts of the country. Their firstborn, James Timothy Acklin, Jr. (Jamie), was born in 1974 in Selma, Alabama, where Jim flew T-38s at Craig Air Force Base, and where Rose worked at an apartment complex office. After a brief stop in Sacramento, California, they returned to Selma until Jim received orders to join a B-52 squadron at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York.

In Rome, Joseph Thomas Acklin (Joe) was born in 1978. Jim excelled as a pilot and Rose excelled at taking care of her boys and building a community of squadron wives that remain friends to this day. Rose spent many hours at the neighborhood pool, weaving baskets with reeds in the water while Jamie and Joe swam. Rose and Jim followed their boys around the neighborhood block as they rode their bikes and The Green Machine. Rose planted beds of marigolds and she and Jim cultivated a small garden where Jamie and Joe dug holes and ate fresh peas. Rose cooked eggs for Jim many mornings despite her aversion to the smell and taste.

Jim’s next orders took the family to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, where he prepared for the introduction of the new B-1B. The house in Fort Worth provided Rose more space to plant flowers, and she took full advantage. The flowers always beamed brightly, except on the day the family brought home their beagle puppy named Cookie, who within moments of entering the backyard trampled and dug up the flowers. Rose forecasted that very result; Jim assured it wouldn’t happen. Rose and Jim took their boys on adventures they loved: attending Texas Ranger and Dallas Mavericks games, White Water and Wet ‘n Wild water parks, and spent more time at the pool than anywhere else, even though Rose didn’t swim. Jim coached the boys’ baseball teams some seasons; Rose often kept scorebook. Rose continued to build her community of friends with the squadron wives. In Fort Worth, Rose procured impossible-to-find gifts for her boys: Voltron for Joe, and a pair of TCU Kaepa shoes for Jamie, among others. She put her mind to it, so it was done.

When Jim received orders to Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, the family moved once more. Jim was a standout pilot and was designated to be one of the very first instructor pilots to fly the B-1B. Jim moved to Abilene ahead of Rose and their boys because of the school schedule. A neighbor later remarked how much Jim talked about his beloved wife Rose and his dear boys in their absence. Soon the family reunited in Abilene. Rose continued to lead adventures for her boys and was a fixture among the squadron wives. She had a knack for being the glue. On the morning of September 28, 1987, Jim’s B-1B crashed in La Hunta, Colorado during a low altitude training mission when large birds collided with the aircraft’s engine, caused a fire, and disabled the hydraulics. Rose and the boys waited much of the day to learn whether Jim had survived the crash. The house was packed with so many friends during the wait that it was difficult to walk from room to room. Rose was notified of Jim’s death that night by an Air Force official. Three members of the crew ejected and survived; the other three, including Jim, did not. Rose gathered herself and told Jamie and Joe about their dad’s death soon after. She promised her boys that things would be ok. It was a promise delivered with love and conviction and intention, and her boys knew it was true. And it was.

Rose’s strength, determination, and love as a single parent could not be surpassed. She moved the family to Granger, Indiana, near South Bend. She and her boys were blessed to be near family, especially her parents Maria and Ilija, and her sister Fay and family. Countless weekends were spent together with kids playing in basements, on trampolines, in a secret passageway, and at the Commissary at Grissom Air Force Base bulk shopping for groceries. Rose’s home became a hub for family events of all kinds. One recurring event still brings laughter. Ilija and Maria had grown to love watching WWF Wrestling, and for several years Rose ponied up for the biggest pay-per-view events and turned it into a combined neighborhood and family party. The family room was surrounded by three layers of horizonal streamers resembling the wrestling ring ropes; guests entered the room by ducking through them.

Rose’s spontaneity was one of her gifts. She led an impromptu trip with her boys to see Michael Jordan play in Atlanta (tickets easier than Chicago, and Chicago had no Coke museum), and planned a quick trip back to Texas to see Nolan Ryan’s 299th win. Unfortunately that trip was derailed due to the flu, but many other adventures awaited. A month after her son Joe received his private pilot’s license, she was all too willing to hop in a Cessna with him to visit family in Wisconsin. Most recently, on the morning of the Notre Dame-IU football playoff game in 2024, she directed Jamie to round up a crew to go see the game, and a group of four left for the game just hours later. Rose wore a red coat but clarified with every IU fan that she was rooting for the Irish. She was always up for something big, and she was always up late. She often stayed up until the wee hours, and somehow functioned on less sleep than most. It was always a safe bet to call her at 1:00 a.m. or even later. A 4:00 a.m. bedtime was not unusual.

At every Air Force base city and in Granger, Rose was a room mother to her boys’ classrooms, and attended their events without fail. She supported them fully and with much love yet she also led by example about how not to take anyone’s shit. Because she did not. In South Bend, she became deeply involved in the Christ Child Society. The mission of the South Bend chapter was to clothe needy children. Rose was known to buy out the entire stock of coats, hats and mittens at stores, filling her full-size van with donations. She served as the Chapter secretary, president-elect, and president. Over 4,000 children received clothes each year during her many years of service. She later served on the National Christ Child Board in several executive roles and thrived.

After her boys went off to college and started working, Rose met Rich Walker and they began a relationship, culminating in an engagement. Rose and Rich shared their lives for decades until her death. They enjoyed vacationing in Florida most Januarys and cherished walks on the beach. Between the two of them, hundreds of sand dollars and shark’s teeth were relocated to Indiana. In 2013, they moved to Westfield, Indiana, to be near her sons’ families and beloved grandchildren and great nieces. The Westfield house always featured a great meal and show-stopping landscaping that Rose designed to pop from spring to fall. Rose often shared starts of her plants with neighbors and family, and hosted her boys and their families for dinner featuring their favorite foods. They always left her home with generous portions of leftovers. Rose served on HOA Boards during her time in Granger and Westfield. She reveled in creating an April Fool’s Day edition of the neighborhood newsletter in Granger, and recalled fondly the telephone calls from neighbors asking why the tennis courts were requiring Wimbledon attire and who was it that decided every lawn must match a certain swatch of the color green. She was proud of Operation Pristine in her Westfield neighborhood.

She loved her grandchildren and great nieces dearly, always attended their events, and was excited to hear about their interests. She cherished providing several beach vacations for her grandchildren, and loved watching them build sand castles and find shells. She hosted “Grandma Camp” at her Westfield house for several years, complete with a duck pond. She sewed each grandchild a custom pillowcase for the camp sleepover, featuring a handle to easily carry the pillow back home.

Like her mother Maria, she was a talented seamstress. She made quilts for the new babies of friends and family far and wide. She ironed graduation gowns for many of her grandchildren, including recently when it was hard for her to walk up from the basement where her iron was. She fixed holes in clothing for friends and family, sewed patches on letter jackets, hemmed pants, re-fastened buttons, and ironed and altered formal dresses to perfection. She loved to visit fabric stores in Indiana and beyond, and made friends at every stop.

She celebrated her 75th birthday dancing to a polka band, with her and everyone else unaware that in less than two months she would struggle to breathe. During her last weeks when she was at her weakest, Rose displayed her great strength and determination. She brought lilies and other plants dug from her garden to her boys, and provided lily starts to neighbors. She made zucchini bread for family and neighbors, even though her body was starting to tire. In the week she died, Jamie, Joe and Rich each ate the zucchini bread she made before visiting her in the hospital. She packed the freezer with zucchini muffins for Rich. She made sure a baby quilt was mailed out just days before she died. She never once complained about her dire situation.

Her final days in the hospital had the most loving and beautiful interactions. Many family members visited from across the country. Despite knowing she would soon die, Rose was the vibrant host of her own going away party. Stories were shared, laughs were surely heard far down the hall, tears were plentifully shed, and beautiful memories were made. When one particularly funny moment happened, she cracked up laughing and said, “Remember that story because I’m not going to be around to tell it!” She passed at 3:55 a.m., about the time she usually went to bed. She will be cherished and loved forever.

Rose was preceded in death by her husband, James, Sr., her parents, Ilija and Maria, her sister Anna, and brother Johann. She is survived by her son Jamie and his wife Stephanie, along with their children Claire, Ryan, Jack, and Emily; by her son Joe and his wife Cara, along with their children Lucy, Eli, and Graham; by her sister Fay and her husband Dale, along with their daughter Cara and her husband Jason and daughters Tennyson and Guineviere; by her brother Paul and his significant other Vera, by her fiancé Rich, and countless cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

A visitation and viewing will be held on Wednesday, June 10, from 4-7 p.m. at Palmer Funeral Home – Welsheimer Chapel, 17033 Cleveland Road, South Bend, Indiana 46635.

The funeral will be held on Thursday, June 11, at the Basilica of Sacred Heart on the University of Notre Dame campus. Please arrive between 8:15 and 8:45 a.m. outside the Palmer Funeral Home - Welsheimer Chapel, and staff will be present to direct you to the end of the procession. The procession will commence at 9:00 a.m. to the Basilica of Sacred Heart, where Notre Dame police will assist with parking. Following the funeral mass that begins at 9:30 a.m., the procession will continue to Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Family and friends are requested to bring quilts made by Rose to hang over the pews during the funeral mass. Please mark your quilts with your name and a phone number so forgotten quilts can be returned.

Please consider a donation to the American Lung Association so one day a cure may be found.