Roseanna Victoria Pearl Bernice Dixon Dow

Roseanna Victoria Pearl Bernice Dixon Dow was born March 16, 1926 in Lawrence County, Kentucky near a place called Patrick. She was the median child of Edgar and Jennie Daniel Dixon, born number eight of fifteen children. Three of her siblings survive her: Flora Osborne, Walter (Charlotte) Dixon, and Chester (Pat) Dixon.

Roseanna married Irving Eben Dow on November 30, 1943 in Denver, Colorado. They remained married and devoted to one another until Irving's death in 2008. During their marriage they lived in Colorado, Kentucky, and Florida. In each place, Roseanna grew food to feed her family and beautiful flowers to feed their souls.

Roseanna and Irving were loving, strict, sacrificing, and nurturing parents to Irvanna (Rodney) Driggers, Jacqueline (Kurt) King, and Hoyt (Margaret) Dow. Through birth, adoption and marriages, their children provided grandchildren for Roseanna to tend and love: Daniel (Stephanie) Driggers, Matthew (Jocelyn) Driggers, Eben (Amanda) King, Elisabeth King, Melissa (Brandon) Harvey, Hoyt, Jr. (deceased), Peter (Jennifer) Albanese, Mary (Mike) Farnsworth, and Margie Berry. These grandchildren provided a host of great-grandchildren, all of whom survive. Roseanna is also survived by scores of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who are as close as family, especially Rose Ainslie and her children. She loved them, and they loved her.

After her marriage, Roseanna never worked outside the home. She had to stop formal schooling after grade eight, but she did not stop learning. She read constantly, and when given an opportunity to attend junior college, she greatly enjoyed taking classes. Education was high priority, and she made sure her children were able to go to college, even though it was at a great sacrifice for her. Roseanna encouraged her siblings to stay in school, even taking some into her home to help them. She provided books and opportunities for learning to her children and grandchildren. In addition, she taught (or tried to teach) as many as possible to garden or work with their hands. Roseanna created many beautiful things with her crochet hooks, knitting needles, sewing machine, embroidery needles, quilt pieces, and paint brushes.

Roseanna described herself as a non-denominational Christian. She encouraged her children to love and serve God, and she made sure she knew the Bible. She lived the concepts of clothing and feeding those less fortunate and of providing hospitality to strangers. She was a peacemaker, and taught her children not to bicker and to share freely. She was a caretaker. Before leaving this earth, she made sure all her family and friends knew that she loved them. She asked and received our blessing to leave us, comforting us before she left and making sure each of us understood that death is a natural act, and she was okay with it.

Roseanna was unique. Let us all remember her with love, and pass that love forward to others. Let us not forget to carry on her tradition of caring for the needs of others before we worry about ourselves.

Goodbye, Roseanna. We love you dearly.