Roseann Maurer

We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ Lux Funeral Home & Cremation Services

Tessye, Michael and Katy: With our deepest sympathy during this difficult time. Rose will be missed. I know she will watch over you all with love.

Rose was a complicated person. I guess that is something on which we can all agree. Depending upon the circumstances upon which you knew her, your view of her effect on the world may differ. I’m here to say that Rose was a lot more than many people realize. I knew her for about 35 years. In fact, if I am not mistaken, she is the first of the Maurers that I met. Back then, she was painfully shy–at least toward me. We had something in common–our interest in writing–and I think she was a little intimidated by all the magazine articles I had published during that period. She admired the success and she wanted to learn from me. But that shyness disappeared, I guess, as I got to know the real Rose, the hopeless romantic, the unreformable optimist; Rose, the writer. Not a lot of people know that about her, I don’t think. Rose wanted to write and she was really quite good at it. She published a fair number of articles in my newspapers. But you would hardly know because she had a host of pen names. I am not going to tell you what they were because she chose to be anonymous for a reason. It’s funny about that. Within the past year Rose was telling me she had become embolden and thought she might start using her real name. But she didn’t much. Time ran out, I suppose. People probably don’t know just how supportive Rose was of the newspaper and the voice that it offers to the community. They probably don’t know of her undying support of the arts. In fact, we had many late night discussions on how great it would be to have a writers’ retreat on the ranch. There were to be a ring of cabins surrounding a multi-purpose area where residents could get food, hear lectures, get to know one another. And back at their cabins they could write to their heart’s content in the middle of the majestic hill country that she loved so much. But, alas, it was a dream that wasn’t realized. When we started work on the Duggan Creative Arts Center, Rose was behind it to the max. Encouraging creativity was a passion of hers. I bet most did not know that. Rose had other dreams, and regrets, and she had certain fears about the future and her life. I won’t share those because of the nature of the private conversations, but I will say this–Rose was complicated. One thing that shines through all is just how compassionate she was. When I was going through some stuff, Rose was one of the few people who called, asked about me, made sure I had food and did it consistently. A lot of people are “there” when tragedy hits, but how many people are there for the long haul? Rose was. People who did not see this side of Rose missed something. And that’s a shame because Rose’s heart was the size of a mountain. She had courage, a little hidden behind pen names, but courage nonetheless. It is common to say when a person passes that he or she will be missed. Or course that’s true. But Rose is here and she will be here–in ways that defy words. She was a good person. A good soul. A fellow traveler on life’s journey. –Doug

The memories, too many to post unless I was writing a book, will be more dear now. Rose – my sister, I miss you. This pic of Rose spending time with my son, is one of my favorites. And Rose, the majority of her life, owned some sort of poodle.