May 9, 2021
Those of you who met Rose Marie were probably taken in immediately by her gregarious personality and her ability to make new friends at the drop of a hat. She could be a great friend and a mentor.
Rose Marie Nero was born in Cleveland Ohio, the second daughter of Newton and Jenny Nero, sister to Alice and aunt to Gary Birinyi. She married Phillip J Portaro on May 24, 1958. Phillip's time in the army and later his work took him to Europe where he spent a lot of time. In 1966 Rose Marie joined him for several weeks and they traveled around the continent. She had many great memories of that trip but her main souvenir turned out to be her only child Michael. Unfortunately the music took to the sideline when Phillip got sick in 1982, and passed away in 1984 at which time managing the household and seeing Michael through high-school and into college took priority. For much of this time Rose Marie was self employed, buoyed by her personality and contacts she did anything from clean houses, to secretarial or other office related work - whatever anyone needed.
In the 1990s she started working at the The Community House in Birmingham Michigan. This is the job that would define the later part of her life. She met a wide variety of people at all levels of society - she was the 'face' of The Community House for the better part of 30 years - working the front desk she was often the first person someone would encounter. She made numerous friends and it became a part of her. Michael had moved to Colorado in 2005 with his wife Michele and the plan was that Rose Marie would eventually join them in her retirement. But her love of The Community House was such that retirement was never really on the table.
Rose Marie could also be socially adventurous. From 2001, through 2019 she attended the Indy 500 - an interest she took to after Michael started going in 1985. At first she started going in a motorhome with her travel buddy Jim. Michael recounted:
"In 2005 when Danica Patrick was a rookie driving for Bobby Rahal and David Letterman, I returned to the motorhome after the final practice before the race and I see mom and Jim sitting there wearing brand new Danica Patrick/Team Rahal/Letterman hats… I asked where they got them. They said they wandered into her hospitality tent and were given them. For those of you who aren't familiar with Indy, you can't get into a hospitality tent without credentials - it's like having a back-stage pass at a concert. Somehow they managed to do just that and nobody questioned them. Then, from 2007 through 2011 Mom, Jim and myself managed to crash the night before the 500 party hosted by Mari Hulman George - the owner of the track. We mingled with and got to know regular guests like Florence Henderson, Jim Nabors and Ruth Buzzi. Nobody ever questioned us and after the first couple years we were also 'regulars'.
After Jim passed away she continued joining us for the race and her preference was to venture to the viewing mounds in the infield spending the day by herself making new friends as she didn't want to be 'confined' by having a ticketed seat - this continued through her last 500 in 2019 by which time she was 82. After the race we'd meet up at a designated spot and she always seemed to be with a new friend that she had made."
As it became apparent in 2020 that Rose Marie was no longer going to able to take care of herself, she was moved to Castle Pines Colorado to be near Michael, where she spent the final months of her life. Even during her short tenure in Colorado and with her health deteriorating, she had a profound positive impact on those she encountered.