In Loving Memory
of Rosemary Darben
A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Christ Episcopal Church, 90 Kings Hwy, Middletown.
Bulletin for Saturday: rosemary_Darben_final.pdf
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Obituary
Rosemary Darben, 100, of Red Bank, NJ, passed away on February 18, 2024 in Red Bank, NJ.
Rosemary Darben was born the fourth of 6 children to Robert E. and Miriam E. Darben on December 22, 1923, at home on Woodland Avenue, Montclair, New Jersey. She attended Montclair Public Schools and, in high school, excelled in sports, especially basketball and tennis.
The family moved to 69 Pleasant Way, and it was here that she became a promising tennis player, honing her skills at the neighborhood tennis courts of Nishuane Park. She competed on the Black American Tennis Association circuit at a time when Blacks were barred from competing in the USLTA tournaments with some success. It was on this circuit she met her fiercest competitor and future lifelong friend, sister-in-law, and U.S. Open and Wimbledon Champ tennis great Althea Gibson. When Althea became the first African American to play for the USTA she trained with Rosemary and even resided with the Darben family for a number of years, becoming a member of the family, and a close sister after marrying Rosemary's brother William. They would often be seen volleying at the Nishuane Park tennis courts.
Around this same time Rosemary was completing her studies in Biology at the former Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey, subsequently being hired as a biologist by Shering-Plough in Bloomfield, New Jersey. She was employed by this company and Merck Pharmaceuticals for about 18 years. It was here that she met her co-worker, supervisor, lifelong best friend and traveling partner Elsie J. Helme.
They shared a love of tennis, golf and many other outdoor activities, and a gusto For world travel, so much so they both retired early to embark on a "bucket list" of travel destinations and experiences all over the world.
Rosemary and Elsie purchased their first home together relocating to 20 Bayberry Lane in Middletown, N.J., residing there for the next 40+ years, entertaining friends and family, often poolside, accumulating a menagerie of ets, and adding a vacation home in Lake Naomi, Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania before retiring to Shadow Lake Village where Elsie passed away in 2018.
During these years Rosemary and Elsie became staples in Middletown, joining and becoming active in Christ Episcopal Church, serving in ministries and teaching Sunday School.
In 1970 and 2006 Rosemary became the owner of two patents, one, an idea for a new type of Golf game called "Tri-Green Golf" as well as inventing an apparatus to prevent "deep vein thrombosis" in individuals confined to bed and/ or wheelchairs.
"Ro and Els", as they were fondly known, were also founders of the "Net Result" tennis foundation in 1986 mentoring and training aspiring young tennis players in the Monmouth County area. "Ro and Els" received several community service awards from the Town of Middletown and the USTA "junior division" for their contributions and dedication to excellence.
Rosemary's legacy has spanned a century of devotion, support, and commitment to a large and extended family of "grands," "great grands," and friends. Her service to her community and church is well-documented and chronicled. She has always exhibited a prolific, accomplished, productive zest for life, an exemplary life well lived, and a life thoroughly enjoyed with no regrets!
ROSEMARY leaves to cherish her memory Nieces, Jaye Cureton, June T. McQueen, Barbara Berry, Sandra E. Terry, Linda Terry-Brooks and Nephew Roger S. H. Terry, as well as Grand and Great Grand nephews, nieces, family and friends.
