Obit: Meyer, Rosalie (1922 - 2016)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Meyer, Pranschke, Czerwionka, Kodl, Klick, Felix, Briggs, Wright, Swope, Sperl, Barrett, Needham, Coleman, Hartnett, Zwiefelhofer, Weisenburger, Eck

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., WI) 11/02/2016

Meyer, Rosalie (12 August 1922 – 31 October 2016)

Rosalie Meyer, age 94, of Thorp, Wisconsin, died Monday, October 31, 2016, at Oakbrook Health and Rehabilitation in Thorp only five months after losing Ted, her “gem of a man,” as she called him.

Rosalie was born to Ted and Rose (Pranschke) Czerwionka on August 12, 1922, in Chicago, Illinois, where she attended Budlong Elementary School, and was a 1940 graduate of Roald Amundsen High School. After catching the eye of Ted Meyer of Edson, Wisconsin, at a Chicago square dance, they were married July 1, 1944, in Jacksonville, Florida, where Ted was stationed as a Marine. They moved to Thorp in 1947, where they started their business, Thorp Electric Motor Service and raised their family. Besides bookkeeping at various times for their own business as well as Blue Moon Foods and Senn Law Office, Rosalie was first and foremost a mother; whatever she did was meant to make life better for her family.

Among the life lessons she taught her children were how to sew, crochet, cook, iron (even her sons!), shop for a bargain, and play baseball. She was her children’s mentor and most faithful fan, attending every play, concert, game, or contest. She still found time to serve many years as Thorp Catholic School volunteer librarian, Cub Scout den mother, and 4-H group leader.

Rosalie was blessed with a God-given talent, her beautiful singing voice, which was enhanced by voice lessons in her childhood and young adult years. Her children’s earliest memories were of her singing: at home while performing household tasks, in the church choir, at Morgan Plaza and Oakbrook Health and Rehabilitation to entertain the residents, and in community musicals.

Rosalie’s church and community benefited from her volunteerism; she cheered up patients at the Stanley Hospital as a Grey Lady for many years, helped with the Red Cross Bloodmobile, volunteered as a cleaning lady at St. Bernard-St. Hedwig Church for 35 years, and belonged to the Parish Council of Catholic Women.

In her spare time, some of Rosalie’s activities included reading, crocheting, attending her card club, participating in golf and bowling leagues, watching the Packers and the Badgers on TV, and meeting with her Friendly Neighbors Homemakers Club. However, nothing gave her more pleasure than gathering her family around her dining room table, where the family’s favorite menus often included one of her specialties, apple slices or mint supreme.


Rosalie is survived by her children: Nancy (Raymond) Kodl and Dennis (Arlene) Meyer of Thorp, Donna (Dennis Klick) Meyer-Klick of Boyd, Mary Lou (Jim) Felix of Greenwood, Jerry (Sally) Meyer of Menomonee Falls, and Franny Meyer-Briggs of Holcombe; eleven grandchildren: Lindsey (Travis) Wright, Jeffrey (Trisha) Meyer, and Molly Meyer (Shane) Swope; Michael (Ashley May) Klick, Sarah (fiancé Patrick Sperl) Klick, and Andrew Klick (special friend Jenn Barrett); Clara Meyer, Rachel (Daniel) Needham, Miriam (Jeff) Coleman, Tim Meyer, and Abigail Meyer; two great-grandchildren: Finley and Regan Wright; a sister, Felicia (Michael Hartnett) Czerwionka of Park Ridge, Illinois; a sister-in-law, Marceline Zwiefelhofer of Boyd; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband, Ted; her infant son, Teddy; her parents; parents-in-law, Frank and Freda Meyer; three brothers: Ted Fred and Reverend Francis Czerwionka; two sisters: Genevieve (Weisenburger) Eck and Irene Eck; six brothers-in-law: Robert Eck, Martin Weisenburger, Henry, Clayton and Baylon Meyer, and Jack Zwiefelhofer; five sisters-in-law: Mary and Gladys (Dolly) Czerwionka, May, Maria, and Sylvia Meyer; and her son-in-law, Brian Briggs.

Visitation will be held Friday night, November 4, 2016, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Thorp Funeral Home, 110 W. School Street, Thorp. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at St. Bernard-St. Hedwig Church, 109 N. Church Street in Thorp at 10:30 a.m. with visitation at the church that morning from 9:30 to 10:30. Inurnment at St. Bernard’s Cemetery, in Thorp, will follow the Mass. Lunch will be served afterwards in the church basement.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to Thorp Catholic School or Thorp Catholic School or Thorp Community Food Pantry.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.cuddiefh.com.  Thorp Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.