Rose Gilbert’s Fighting Spirit Remembered

Several generations of Palisadians laughed, sang and cheered on the Bruins just as Rose “Mama G” Gilbert would have wanted.

Hundreds of former students and colleagues filled Palisades High School’s Mercer Hall on Sunday afternoon to pay tribute to the woman Principal Pam Magee called their “most treasured teacher.”

Rose Gilbert began teaching English at PaliHi when the school opened in 1961, and she continued teaching until her retirement last February at age 94. She was the oldest full-time teacher at Los Angeles Unified School District and one of the oldest in the country. She was 95 when she died at a local hospital on Dec. 16.

“Her ability to give of her heart and her time without the expectation of something in return was certainly one of her most memorable attributes,” her grandson Jeff Gilbert said.

During her career, Gilbert won numerous teaching awards and gained national media attention as the millionaire teacher who wouldn’t quit. On Sunday, she was remembered for her ability to connect with students and her tireless work to improve PaliHi.

“Mama G set the bar high for all of us, and she inspired those who worked with her to be better – better students, better educators and, more important, better human beings,” Magee said.

Several speakers expressed that Gilbert always knew what she wanted and refused to take no for an answer. That was true even at Sunday’s memorial. Family members said she left behind a detailed written plan for what she wanted, and no one dared stray from it.

The mood was far from somber with a pep rally for Gilbert’s beloved UCLA Bruins held midway through the ceremony. The UCLA pep band, cheerleaders and school mascot marched into Mercer Hall to provide a proper sendoff for one of their most dedicated fans and benefactors.

Gilbert gave generously to UCLA and PaliHi, funding multiple scholarships and helping with renovation projects on both campuses.

Her wealth came from her husband, Sam Gilbert, who died in 1987. That money allowed her to travel the world, but her life was not always easy.

Frank Kretzer, whose family had been friends with Gilbert for 70 years, talked about the obstacles she overcame. When her first husband died of an aneurysm, she became a single mother of a young child. She also suffered a miscarriage, and later in life, her daughter Maggie died of an embolism. Gilbert also had to overcome family conflicts and a federal investigation into Sam Gilbert’s business practices.

“When Rosie taught literature of lost love, loneliness and overcoming defeat, she’d been there,” Kretzer said. “Her life experience was fused into every character, every poem, every piece of prose she ever taught the kids.”

Even with her interest in theater, travel and basketball, longtime family friend and attorney Hubert R. Sommers said teaching was always most important.

“Education was her love. That was what she pursued with all vigor,” he said.