Rosalie Joan (Teel) Weskamp

Rosalie Joan (Teel) Weskamp

April 25, 1929 - Sept. 25, 2018

McCOOK, Neb. — Rosalie Joan (Teel) Weskamp, a longtime resident of McCook, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018. She was 89 years young.

Rosalie was born April 25, 1929, in Indianola, Neb. She was the second of five children born to Earl and Clara F. (Hakel) Teel. While a child, the family moved to McCook, where she graduated from McCook High School with the Class of 1947.

On June 15, 1949, Rosalie married Vernon J. (Red) Weskamp. One of Rosalie’s many talents was that of a seamstress that she had learned from her mother. She designed and assisted in sewing her own wedding dress for her special day. In 1962, the couple bought a lot on East Second Street and began to build their new home. Rosalie was instrumental in the design and layout of the house. Their home was featured in the McCook Gazette newspaper, calling it a sleek, modern design. She was so proud of the article and her home and loved to decorate and entertain. The couple had three children, a son, Craig and twin daughters, Rose Marie and Mara Lee. She was a dedicated homemaker and mother, always putting her children first. Upon paying off her children’s orthodontist bills, she decided to get braces herself. Her husband asked why she would do such a thing in her forties and she replied “when I get them off, I plan to start my singing career.” Rosalie was blessed with the voice of an angel. She participated in Sweet Adelines, sang in the church choir and was often asked to sing at weddings and funerals.

Rosalie was a very dedicated Catholic and a member of St. Patrick’s Church. She was involved in the Altar Society and made many of the tapestries and decorations for the church. She was often in the kitchen preparing meals and serving donuts after church service. She was a founding member of the Bargain Bazaar Thrift Store, which is still highly successful today. She would take the tattered clothing home, wash, mend and iron them, making them look almost new. After her job as the Red Willow County Clerk, she became the Treasurer of St. Patrick’s Credit Union which is now KRD. She helped host families in need and was always giving of herself. She was also a member of the McCook School Board of Education. Shortly after having her braces removed, she went to McCook Junior College and earned her associates of arts degree, much again to her husband’s surprise.

Rosalie loved to volunteer. She was her children’s Boy Scout leader, Girl Scout leader, helped with 4-H, was a member of the Merry Mrs. Club and drove for Meals on Wheels, along with many other organizations. Her hobbies included sewing, arts and crafts, bible study, navigator on family vacations, hair stylist to her daughters, gardening, dancing and card playing. She thoroughly enjoyed Pinochle Marathon with family and friends. She made the most amazing costumes, often times winning prizes in the Back to School, Heritage Days, Baseball and other parades. You could always find her cheering on her daughters at dance recitals and her son at the baseball field. She was incredibly organized and thorough, which would explain the photo in this obituary and the dress she will be buried in. She put all of this final information together for her kid’s convenience and has been updating it for the past 25 to 30 years. I believe she loved this photo as it was one of the last professional photo sessions she and her husband took prior to his passing.

Rosalie was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Clara; her brothers, Willard and Wilmer; her husband, Vernon (Red) and special friend, Jim Waddell.

Those celebrating her wonderful life are son, Craig (Polly) Weskamp of Aurora, Colo.; daughter, Rose Marie Weskamp of Truckee, Calif.; daughter, Mara Lee (Fred) Ebert of Sonoma, Calif.; sisters, Dorothy Brandt of Lincoln, Neb., and Evelyn (Larry) O’Donnell of Manhattan, Kan.; sister-in-law, Betty Irene Teel of Pueblo, Colo.; six grandchildren, Ryan Weskamp, Deanna Sunnergren, Shelbie, Logan, Connor and Jenna Ebert; numerous nieces and nephews, and special friends and neighbors, Dwayne and Linda Jessie of McCook. She is known by her family as a good mom, sister and aunt with a beautiful soul and by her friends as kind, graceful and beautifully strong who brightened a room with her loving smile and infectious laugh. She was always happy and will be missed by her many friends she enjoyed sharing meals and shooting pool with at the Senior Center in McCook.

Visitation will be Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, from 3-7 p.m., at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home in McCook, followed by a Recitation of the Rosary at 7 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in McCook with Father Gary Brethour presiding. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery in McCook. A luncheon will be at St. Patrick’s Church basement.

Memorial donations may be directed to the McCook Senior Center, 1312 West 5th Street, McCook, NE 69001.

Carpenter Breland Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements. Please see www.carpenterbreland.com to sign the online guestbook for the Weskamp family.