Rosetta Marie Peters, 95, passed away peacefully Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022, at the Taylor House in Des Moines, Iowa, surrounded by her family.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, Dec. 13 at the Faith Lutheran Church in Adel from 3-6 p.m., with family present from 4-6 p.m. A funeral service will take place at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Panther Creek Church of the Brethren in rural Adel. A private family burial will take place at a later date.
Rosetta (Rosie) was born Jan. 27, 1927, in Marshalltown, Iowa, to Tiberius Ulysses (T.U.) and Elta Schaefer Reed. She was the youngest of four kids TU and Elta raised.
Her dad was a traveling pastor and would fill in at a church on an interim basis. As a result, Rosie attended the following six schools while growing up: Washington Township in Dallas County, Maxwell schools, Colfax #2 – a one-room school in Dallas County, a one-room school in Clarke County and Osceola High School, eventually graduating at age 17 from Linden High School in 1944.
She attended McPherson College in Kansas for her freshman year. It was during World War II, and the area was short on teachers. At age 18, she was recruited to teach in a one-room schoolhouse near Marquette, Kansas.
Rosie later returned home, lived in Des Moines and worked at Central Life Insurance Co.
In 1947 she headed west, where she lived and worked in Pasadena, California. Her high school sweetheart, Darrell Peters, missed her so much that he and his friend, Theron “Pud” Barnett, hitched a ride to California in order to bring her home.
Darrell asked Rosie to marry him, and she accepted. However, as Rosie was nine months older, Darrell’s mom, Mildred Peters, had them wait until they were both the same age. Darrell turned 20 on Oct. 5, and they were married one week later on Oct. 12, 1947.
Rosie and Darrell farmed in Dallas County until his health conditions caused them to move from the farm and into town.
In 1955 they bought the Maid-Rite in Adel and ran it until 1962. Rosie worked at the Iowa Power and Light (IPALCO) customer service office in Adel for three years.
In 1965 Rosie became the secretary to the Adel High School principal, Mr. Bly. When Mr. Norenberg became principal in 1970, she continued as his secretary until 1977.
After three years as a real estate agent, Rosie worked at the license plate division of Iowa Department of Transportation until she retired in 1992.
Rosie enjoyed gathering with the morning coffee gals, hosting family gatherings, church activities, her exercise classes at Dallas County Hospital, following the grandkids’ and great-grandkids’ activities and many summers at Happy Acres/Diamond Head Lake.
Some of Rosie’s life highlights were as a chaperone to Mr. Niemeyer’s Adel Tigerette athletic teams from 1965-1977; tandem skydiving for her 80th birthday in 2007 in Eloy, Arizona; making quilts for her grandkids; and at Christmas making date roll from her mom’s recipe for her nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Darrell; siblings, Eva (Verle) York, Cecil (Helen) Reed, Walter Reed and Harlan Reed (at birth); and sister-in-law, Dolores (Roger) Horn.
She is survived by her sons, Jim (Pam) Peters of Adel and Jon (Kim) Peters of Panora; grandson, Grant (Nicki) Peters; great-grandsons, Corbin (6) and Crew (3) of Urbandale; granddaughter, Kristie (Justin) Schaul; great-granddaughters, Finley (13) and Reese (10) of Adel; granddaughter, Kelsey (Scott) Hughes; great-granddaughters, Ellie (12) and Kilee (11) of Perry; and great-grandson, Ray (9) of Perry; sister-in-law, Dorothy Kelly Reed of Vermillion, S.D.; many nieces and nephews; and many friends in Adel, throughout the country and in Germany.
The family would like to thank the Taylor House staff who cared for Rosie during her final days.
Online Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.caldwellparrish.com. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Panther Creek Church of the Brethren, 24529 J Ave., Adel, IA 50003 or a charity of your choice.
