Making Rosary Beads Out of Flowers 

by Matt Hess

Catholics tend to collect rosaries without intending to form a collection. Each rosary recalls memories of special people, places, and sacraments, such as Grandpa’s First Communion rosary or the one you purchased while visiting Fatima.

Jean Richmond has been helping people throughout the northern part of the archdiocese and beyond to preserve memories and offer them up in prayer through her business, Roses to Memories. She forms flower petals, often from roses, into keepsake rosaries and other items, such as bracelets, key chains, car crosses, or suncatchers.

The project began 22 years ago with Jean and her mother, Betty Jutte, when their family endured a difficult time of transition. There was collective grief following a number of successive deaths in the family, and Jean was balancing a house full of kids. “It was a way of relieving stress and working from home,” said Jean, who agreed to partner with her mom when her mom suggested the project.

The pair experimented with different methods of making beads from flowers. “Mom and I learned through trial and error,” Jean said. “It took about a year to figure out.” Through persistence, they found that roses, with just a little bit of help, make the best beads for rosaries, and “we literally rolled with it,” Jean laughed.

It is fitting that the root of the English word “rosary” means “rose garden” or “garland of roses.” Each time we pray the Rosary, Catholics can see it as offering a bouquet of roses to Our Lady. Moreover, there is a tradition of making rosaries from roses that goes back to the Middle Ages.

Their basic process includes grinding the flowers down, adding a compound, then waiting for them to dry to a consistency at which they can be rolled into beads. Jean assures customers, “Every bead is handmade, hand rolled, and hand pinned.” It is a meticulous process that takes time and care to ensure that each piece is of heirloom quality.

When they first began making beads, the process was a little different, and Jean and Betty could only take roses. Today, the process can be applied to any flower from any event. Flowers brought to Jean’s house come from weddings and funerals of loved ones, along with prom corsages, anniversary bouquets, and flowers from other events.

It’s a special way of helping people and life events live on, well after the accompanying flowers do. The rosary’s flower beads remind their recipients to lift up in prayer those people associated with the event.

Naturally, Jean meets people in various states of life. “I don’t always ask about the flowers people bring in,” she said, “I follow their lead and let them share what they want to.” When clients do talk about their flowers, it helps them grieve a loss or share a new joy in life, and Jean is there to listen and honor that moment in their life by her work.

A change in Betty’s health caused her to step back from the project about three years ago, after nearly 20 years of working on it together. Jean reflects at times on the value and meaning of Roses to Memories and wants to ensure its future: “I wanted it to continue when Mom became sick. If possible, I would love it to stay in the family.”

While she doesn’t know how many rosaries they made from flowers over the years, it must be in the thousands. Jean estimates that she makes about 400 each year. 

“Imagine if they were all just prayed one time, how many prayers that would be,” she said. The impact of the grace unleashed is unknowable, but awesome all the same.

Jean’s work through Roses to Memories helps preserve moments and people in the hearts and minds of those who bring their flowers to her. These keepsakes, often rosaries, connect flowers to faith and lift up people, places, and experiences in prayer.

If you would like more information, you can find Roses to Memories on Facebook or call Jean Richmond at 419-852-1903.

This article appeared in the March 2026 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.