Mary Grace Rosenow

Mary Grace (Norris) Rosenow, age 89, formerly of St. Peter, MN, passed away peacefully in Champlin, MN, Thursday, May 2, 2024. She was “home” in her assisted living facility for the final week of her journey, lovingly ushered to the next place by family members and compassionate caregivers.

 A Celebration of Life will be held at Champlin United Methodist Church, 921 Downs Road, Champlin, MN, at 2:00 p.m., on Saturday, May 11, 2024 with visitation one hour prior. A private graveside service and burial will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery, St. Peter, Minnesota. Livestreaming of the service will be available at www.saintpeterfuneralhome.com

St. Peter Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Memorials would be welcome in Mary’s memory to American Parkinson’s Disease Association or Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Born January 23, 1935, the first-born daughter of Edmond Hand Norris and Grace Bainbridge Norris, Mary’s very first adventure was a horsedrawn sleigh ride through deep snow to get from the family home in Villard, MN, to the hospital in Glenwood in time for her arrival. She grew up in Long Prairie, MN, where she was the homecoming queen at Long Prairie High School in 1951, graduating in 1952. Most importantly, this is where Mary met her true love and life partner, Darrel Dean Rosenow. Darrel and Mary married shortly after high school and together attended University of Minnesota for two years before returning to Long Prairie where Darrel joined the Norris family hatchery business and Mary dedicated herself to raising their growing young family.

After brief stints in Brainerd and Gaylord, the family settled in St. Peter, where Mary and Darrel lived for more than 40 years until his death in 2019.  Mary focused her energies on raising her family, and over the years also worked as a hospital aide, sold fresh vegetables from her plentiful garden, managed the local fabric store, and served as the receptionist for a local doctor. After retiring in 1991, Mary loved spending time with her children and their spouses as well as her five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. 

In her active years, Mary enjoyed gardening, golfing, skiing, painting, projects at the cabin, and swimming in the lake. She and Darrel were square dancers for more than 40 years and members of the St. Peter Promenaders. Even as she aged and lived with Parkinson’s disease, Mary continued to knit and quilt and bake with gusto. She did not allow the progressive disease to define her but rather she faced it with courage, dignity, and spunk, up until the very last days of her life.

In 2019, Mary relocated to Anoka and then Champlin, MN, to be closer to family. For the last five years of her life, Mary’s primary caregiver was her daughter-in-law, Kathy, whom Mary referred to as her “right hand person”. The two formed a special bond that was evident to all.

Mary is survived by her sons, Darrel Dean, Jr. (Lucy) of Minneapolis and Charles (Kathleen) of Ramsey; son-in-law, Dr. Mark Heggem of Aitkin; grandchildren, Joshua (Shauna) Heggem of Battle Lake, MN, Andrew Heggem of Madison, TN, Nathan (Matt Dittes) Heggem of Brooklyn, NY, Fuhua Ding (John Thode) of Shorewood, MN, and Taylor Rosenow of Coon Rapids, MN; seven great-grandchildren; sister, Jeanie Trigg of Capitola, CA; many cousins, nieces and nephews. 

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Edmond and Grace Norris; her husband of 66 years, Darrel Dean Rosenow, Sr.; eldest son, David Rosenow; daughter, Elizabeth (“Liz”) Heggem; brothers, Paul Norris and Edmond Norris, Jr. and sisters, Nell Dobbs, and Susan Ossian.

The live stream link below is a complimentary service provided by St. Peter Funeral Home.

Unforeseen technical, internet, facility, and/or acoustical circumstances may produce a diminished end product. Please note, if the live stream does not appear, we are attempting to record and publish the service for later viewing.
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