lit a candle 23 Sept 2026I read about her for a report on Midwest local government back in grad school, the first Hispanic woman on that council, appointed in 1979 after her husband died in office. Still think about how she just kept going, decades at that library after. 100 years is a whole American century right there.
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Rosemarie Gomez, who became the first Hispanic woman to serve on the East Chicago, Indiana city council, died on September 19, 2026, at her home in East Chicago. She was 100 years old. Born Rosemarie Irene Clarkson on January 14, 1926, in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, she was the eldest child…
Rosemarie Gomez, who became the first Hispanic woman to serve on the East Chicago, Indiana city council, died on September 19, 2026, at her home in East Chicago. She was 100 years old.
Born Rosemarie Irene Clarkson on January 14, 1926, in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, she was the eldest child of Gordon Ellsworth Clarkson, an American, and Emilia Hernandez. She immigrated to the United States with her parents at the age of six, and the family eventually settled in East Chicago, Indiana, after living for a time in Texas. Her father left the family in 1934, and she and her siblings were raised by her mother.
In 1950 she eloped and married Jesse Gomez Sr., an East Chicago native who in 1963 was elected the city's first Hispanic city councilman, a milestone that opened political doors for the Hispanic community in East Chicago and northwest Indiana. After her husband's death in 1979, Rosemarie Gomez was appointed to finish out his term on the council, becoming the first Hispanic woman to serve on East Chicago's City Council. Beyond her time in office, she was known for decades of volunteer work at the East Chicago Public Library, where for years she helped decorate a Mexican themed Christmas tree for the library's annual Christmas Around the World exhibit. In recognition of the couple's contributions to the city, East Chicago later named a street corner after Jesse and Rosemarie Gomez, a ceremony at which she was described by local officials as someone who always gave people hope.
Gomez passed away peacefully at her home in East Chicago on Saturday, September 19, 2026. No cause of death has been made public. Her death was confirmed through an obituary published by her family and funeral home. She is survived by three children, Adrienne Gomez, Jesse Edward Gomez, and Roseanne Cabrera, along with six grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren, and two sisters. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, a brother, a sister, and a son.
Her funeral mass is scheduled to be held at St. Patrick Church in East Chicago, with burial to follow at Ridgelawn Cemetery. She is remembered locally as, alongside her late husband, one of the trailblazers who helped build political representation for East Chicago's Hispanic community.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by nwitimes.com.
That's the same year my mom moved to East Chicago, she always mentioned the Gomez name