Wilma Myrtle (Shoesmith) Rosenberger (1925-2011)

ROSENBERGER, SHOESMITH, MARTIN, DEVILBISS, RANGIER, DONAHOO, WOOD, EVANS, STONE, ROOKER, RANEY, STETZEL, MARSH

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 8/16/2012 at 09:38:15

From Twigg Funeral Home obituary, Guthrie Center, Guthrie County, Iowa.

Wilma (Shoesmith) Rosenberger

Nevada, Iowa (formerly of Guthrie Center, Iowa)
Wilma Myrtle Rosenberger was born on April 1, 1925, to Vinton and Maude (Martin) Shoesmith. She was raised along with her brothers and sisters on the family farm west of Guthrie Center near Bowman Chapel. Being raised during the Depression made for some difficult times for Wilma and her family. This was especially true when her mother passed away when Wilma was quite young.
Wilma graduated from Guthrie Center High School and went on to Normal Training, which prepared her to teach country school. After a short tenure teaching, Wilma met and married Melvin Rosenberger on August 26, 1944. To this union was born five children: Marvin, Jack, Dixie, Cindy, and Suann.

Wilma was a fulltime mother and homemaker. Her life revolved around the activities of her children beginning with assisting with the boys’ paper routes, through being a Girl Scout Leader (for 30 years), to sewing most of her children’s clothing as well as clothing for the girls’ Barbies. Melvin and Wilma had a huge vegetable garden every year, the produce of which was harvested and canned to feed the family through the winter. Hundreds of pints and quarts of vegetables lined the shelves of the basement every year.

Even with all of this, Wilma still found time to participate in a bowling league, Eastern Star, Legion Auxiliary, her church circle of United Methodist Women, and Farm Bureau. She also found time to utilize her creative energies by making a variety of crafts and decorations, embroidered pillowcases with crocheted edges, and of course all the clothing for her family. Wilma’s old Singer sewing machine did everything from making wedding dresses to sewing a ripped out zipper back into a snow boot, with numerous patches and repairs in between.

Wilma passed away peacefully Tuesday, September 27, at Story Center Senior Care in Nevada.

Wilma is survived by her children: Marvin of Des Moines; Jack and his wife, Deb, of Jefferson; Dixie Devilbiss of Oklahoma City; Cindy Rangier and her husband, Bill, of Nevada; and Suann Evans and her husband, Mike, of Ames. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Joe Rosenberger and Laci Donahoo; Emily Wood and her husband, A.J.; Jill Rosenberger; Rob Rosenberger; Josh Rangier; Calvin Evans; and Carleigh Evans, as well as two great-grandchildren, Miles and Eli Wood. She also had two step-grandchildren she considered her own: Donna Stone of Rockford, IL, and Darrin Rooker of Red Oak. Wilma is also survived by her siblings: her sister Dorothy Raney, her brother Merle Shoesmith, her sister Wavah Stetzel, her half-brother Ted Shoesmith, and her half-brother Wayne Shoesmith.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Melvin; her parents, Vinton and Maude Shoesmith; her step mother, Agnes Shoesmith; her sister, Patti Marsh; and an infant sister, Rowena, as well as her companion of later years, Jim Crowley.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to her “family” for the last 8 years at Story Center Senior Care in Nevada. Their love and attention was nothing short of what they would have given their own mother. We know they are mourning her passing as well.

Service:
11:00 am on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at First United Methodist Church Guthrie Center IA 50115 Burial immediately following services.

Cemetery:
Union Cemetery Guthrie Center Iowa 50115