Rosemary Walbert Scalpone

Rosemary Kneeland Walbert Scalpone, affectionately known as Mère by family and friends, died on June 21, 2019 at home surrounded by her family and friends. She was born January 28, 1922 to Lois Katherine Emery and Louie Glenmore Kneeland at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City. Her father was a direct descendant of Lewis Ross, brother of Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation. She grew up in Oklahoma City where she attended Gatewood Elementary, Taft Junior High and Old Classen High School. She was the Blue Jacket Queen and a Merry Maid at Classen High. She attended Sullins College in Bristol, VA and the University of Oklahoma where she was a member of the Phi Beta Phi sorority. In 1945, she married Jonathan Winston Walbert and moved to the Valley in Los Angeles, CA where her husband served as General Counsel for Slick Airways and Marquardt Aerospace Corp. It was there that they raised their children, Kathy and Johnny. She served as president of the Phi Beta Phi Corporation Board of UCLA, was an active and sustaining member of the Junior League, the member of several bridge clubs and attended Sherman Oaks Methodist Church. In 1975 she opened Walbert & Company in Encino, CA where she pioneered the home cooking industry and hosted celebrity chefs like Alice Waters and even assisted Julia Child in a cooking demonstration for a fund-raiser. Following the death of her husband in 1977 and her son in 1978, Rosemary continued to live in CA and own and operate her business. In 1985 she met and married the second love of her life, Alfred James Scalpone. They moved to Rancho Santa Fe, CA where she enjoyed her wonderful friends and beautiful gardens overlooking horse and vegetable farms. In 2008 she returned to Oklahoma City where she cherished spending time with her friends and family. Bridge Club, the Friday Night Harem Group, Colonial Dames, the Wednesday Review Club, Reviewers Clique Book Club, Dig and Hope Garden Club, Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club the Junior League Sustainers, and Nichols Hills United Methodist Church were the beneficiaries of her many talents. Her life was well-lived, filled with laughter and the activities of four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She attributed her nine plus decades of health and happiness to her many friendships in Oklahoma and California. Always fabulously dressed for any occasion, she hosted memorable dinner parties. Her quick wit, joyful smile and kind, compassionate words of encouragement will be missed. Everyone who knew her loved her dearly. Her parents, her first husband, Jonathan Winston Walbert, her son Jonathan Winston Walbert, Jr, and second husband, Alfred James Scalpone, precede her in death. Her daughter Katherine Emery Walbert Walker and her husband, Russell James Walker, survive her along with grandchildren Katherine Buxton and husband Jim; Elizabeth Conroy and husband Steve; Russell Walker, Jr. and wife Kaleigh; Rosemary Walker; and great-grandchildren Kneely and Gracie Buxton and Emery and Steven Conroy. She is also survived by her step-son Russell Scalpone and his wife Gabby and their children and grandchildren and step-daughter Sue Purdy and her husband Bill, and their children and grandchildren. Other survivors include her cousin Emily Emery Blair and nephews Tom Walbert, Tod Ferguson, John Ferguson, and niece Kaye Ferguson McCullough. The family extends a special thank you to her caretakers from Faith, Hope, and Love, Melinda Jackson. Visitation will be at the funeral home Tuesday, June 25 from 9am- 7pm. Funeral service will be held Wednesday, June 26 at 3 pm at Nichols Hills United Methodist Church and burial at Fairlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family request donations be made to Infant Crisis Services of Oklahoma City or Nichols Hills United Methodist Church.