The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts was packed on Thursday afternoon for a funeral Mass for San Antonio's caterer to a pope, presidents, royalty, and celebrities.
100-year-old Rosemary Kowalski and her husband, Hank, started a small barbeque restaurant that grew into the massive RK Group. Some of her employees worked half-a-century for her.
The RK Group, among other operations, caters to large gatherings at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.
Friends remembered that she liked to keep "Kowalski time," which meant she and others were expected to show up at meetings and other gatherings 15 minutes in advance. They added that she liked to sip tequila, and singer Vicente Fernandez delivered his own brand of tequila to her.
San Antonio Catholic Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller told mourners he was asked about what he thinks will happen when the caterer meets God: "For sure he will not allow her to serve him. He will serve her."
Her son-in-law John Carrington reflected on all the love and music that filled the center: "I think we could all float up to heaven to join her for the biggest party of her life."
Carrington said Kowalski may have served the rich and famous, but it was catering parties to mark milestones in the lives of San Antonians that really brought her joy.
The RK Group explained in a statement after her death that that Kowalski was born on Sept. 27, 1924, and grew up on San Antonio's South Side. She met Hank, a pilot, during World War II. They married in 1944. After the war, they used his military pay to buy Uncle Ben's BBQ.
