- Date Of Birth: July 19, 1921
- Date Of Death: September 9, 2018
- State: Illinois
Rosalee “Rosie” Lowry Brune passed away peacefully to join her heavenly family and be with her Lord and Savior, surrounded by her family and dedicated caregivers, on Sunday, September 9, 2018. At this time she was receiving care from Homestead Hospice at her daughter’s house in Georgia.
She had just recently celebrated her 97th Birthday on July 19 with her family.
Rosalee was born to the late Grace Muriel and Charles E. Lowry in Beardstown, Illinois on July 19, 1921. Her family moved to Jacksonville, Illinois during her childhood. She was the youngest of three siblings and was preceded in death by both of her two brothers, Charles Lowry and M. Devon Lowry respectively.
Rosalee graduated from Jacksonville High School (JHS) in 1939. After graduation she was accepted to a College of the Arts. She drew and sketched many portraits in pencil and ink and sketched clothing designs of current fashion. She was immensely talented throughout her life. At this time, however, she decided to get married instead.
On September 13, 1941, Rosalee married William Carl Brune (fondly known as Bud). The ceremony took place at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church at 8 p.m. in a church decorated with ferns. She wore a blue velvet street length gown. They were attended by her sister-in-law Charlotte Brune Lowry (Carl’s sister) and Charles Lowry (Rosalee’s brother).
At this time, Rosalee was employed at J. Capps & Sons where she was a seamstress working on men’s custom made suits. She was an expert at making handmade button holes with waxed thread. Carl Brune was also a graduate of Jacksonville High School and Brown’s Business College and was employed as a bookkeeper for DeWitt Motor Co at this time. He then worked for Eli Bridge Co until he retired at age 65.
Carl preceded her in death on May 24, 2009. At this time they had been married for 68 years. Rosalee is survived by her only child Chris (Brune) Puri (husband Tony) of Marietta, Georgia; Norma Brune, sister-in-law residing in St Louis, Missouri. Norma recently lost her husband Warren, on March 27, 2018. Warren was Carl’s brother. She is also survived by her nephews and nieces: Michael R. Brune nephew, (wife Sue) of Jefferson City, Missouri; Melody (Brune) Kelly (husband Jared); their children Kendall. J, Wyatt Wm, and Charlotte M. Kelly; Mark A. Brune nephew (wife Sherry) of Cape Coral, Florida; their children Matthew A. Brune (wife Stacy), and Andrew R. Brune; William “Bill” Lowry nephew (wife Kathy) of Carrollton, Georgia; David Sheinin (wife Amy) of Baltimore, MD; their children Lucinda and Lyla; Aaron Sheinin (wife Tracy) of Atlanta, Georgia; their children Max and Carter; Ellen (Lowry) Schieber niece (husband Leon) of Morton, Illinois; Lani Vivirito, great niece, South Bend, Indiana; her children Kyria and Domenic Vivirito; and Sam Schieber, great nephew, of Springfield, Illinois.
Rosalee was an extremely talented cook, seamstress and quilter. She received her love for cooking from her Mother Grace and passed that on to her daughter. She was an accomplished musician and played the organ.
She designed and made bread dough figurines. She designed and hand made many quilts for her family and friends. She collected various types of eggs including ostrich eggs and then decorated the shells of the eggs with pearls and sequins for Christmas decorations. She loved Christmas. She also decorated some of the eggs with colorful pieces of fabric and created unique designs to celebrate Easter. She knitted over 50 Christmas socks to be hung on the fireplace mantel. She made these for friends and family and donated many to the various fund raising bazaars. She also enjoyed her Potlucks and swimming with her swim group at the YMCA. She loved animals of all kinds but especially dogs (Dachshund breed). She loved her daughter’s dogs, Blitzen and Roxie, which solidified her lifelong love for animals.
Most importantly, Rosalee will be remembered as a devoted Christian woman who showed so much love, compassion and kindness to so many, especially her daughter Chris, who cared for her during her last years. Her reason for her longevity was due to being “Loved so much.” Rosalee was blessed by many wonderful caregivers along her journey. Our family was blessed to have Yoania Alvarez live with us and help care for her for the past 7 years. We all loved and appreciated Jo so much. Rosalee will be terribly missed, especially by her daughter. However, we are grateful to God for her rich and happy life and look forward to our reunion in Heaven with her.
