Rose E. Gherardi

    Rose Ellen "Pody" Gherardi (Hoinville, Keiser), 94, passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 14,2026, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka. Her husband, Leonard, followed her just one day later — together in life, and reunited in death.

    Pody was born on January 23, 1932, in Greencastle, Indiana (Putnam County), the daughter of Herschel and Elsie (Cowgill) Ruark.

    A devoted educator, Pody began her teaching career in Cassopolis, Michigan, followed by Medford, Wisconsin, before settling in at Penn-Harris-Madison Schools, where she ran both the yearbook and the school newspaper. Pody was also passionate about theater, directing plays at both the high school and community level, including at the Barn Swallow Theatre in Edwardsburg, Michigan.

    Pody was a lifelong Anglophile with a deep love of reading, especially Jane Austen. She enjoyed playing the piano, photography, hiking, gardening, and simply being outdoors — and if anyone dared touch her lawn mower, they did so at their own risk.

    She is survived by her children, Laurie (Edward) Heyden, Jay (Jane) Hoinville, and John (Lisa) Hoinville; grandchildren, Dawn (Darren), Chris (Catherine), Angela (Matt), Robert (Julie), Brad (Rhonda), Megan (Grant), Allison (Matthew), Carolyn (Joshua), Alex (Mara), Elliot, and Kyle; great-grandchildren, John David, Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Neil, Sophia, Zoey, Heyden, and Liam; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

    Pody was preceded in death by her parents; her daughter, Julia Hoinville; and her siblings, Mary, Margaret, Patricia, Virginia, Jerry, and Donald.

   A funeral service will take place on Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Granger Missionary Church, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation 1 hour prior in the church . Burial to follow in Prospect Hill Cemetery, North Disbrow St., Cassopolis, Michigan . 

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