Rose Mary Kennedy

Early in the morning on April 30, 2026, Rose Mary Kennedy, age 95, slipped quietly away in her sleep at home in Orange Park, Florida. Born to Francis Joseph Zumwalde and Mary Magdalena Koll in South St. Paul, Minnesota. She was the fourth of five children. As a young child, Rose could be found reading classic literature and mysteries in a quiet corner of the house. She loved music and sang in the adult church choir at age 12. By high school she was playing french horn in her high school band. After school she worked at Jerabek’s bakery. By the age of 20 she was working at the Stockyards National Bank as a bookkeeper. There she met Henry and when he looked at her, she said that his blue eyes just twinkled. Soon after they dated and on Sept 4,1954, they began a loving 66-year marriage. In 1956 their only daughter Joanne was born. Rose worked until 1961 when she became a stay-at-home mom.

Over the next twelve years Rose put her mind to learning how to tailor suits, knit, paint ceramics, and sketch at home. Sometimes you would find her working as an election judge or volunteering with various community programs and school projects. She was a wonderful mom, kind, caring, supportive but stern when necessary. Joannes college tuition found Rose going back to work as a loan clerk, then loan officer at the Postal Employees Credit Union where she retired after 20 years of service. She made many friends over those years, and they would tell you she was professional, honest, loyal, and generous. Always upbeat and smiling. You never knew when she’d interject something funny into a conversation.

After 50 years in the same house, Rose and Hank never dreamed they’d leave their sisters and brothers in St Paul, Minnesota, however, they wanted to be close to their only granddaughter. They would make four moves to Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, and finally Florida to watch her grow up. Hank passed away from Parkinson’s in 2020, Rose returned to reading, adding crosswords and word seeks to her list of past times. We called her our Energizer bunny because she was always ready to go, go, go right up until the last year when dementia slowly took away her ability to do her pastimes or get in the car even for a short ride. It slowly wore her down physically and eventually she lost the ability to communicate. She started sleeping more and more until she quietly slipped into the Lords' arms. A life well lived.

Rose is survived by her daughter Joanne Mancuso, granddaughter Mary Rose Mancuso, nieces, nephews and their families. Rose was preceded in death by her parents Francis and Mary Magdalena, Sister, Delores (Leonard) Windschitl, Brother, Elmer (Jaqueline) Zumwalde, Brother, Richard (Therese) Zumwalde

Mass of Christian Burial will be held; Monday, May 11, 2026, 10 A.M. St. Joseph’s Historic Catholic Church, 4214 Loretto Road. Jacksonville, Florida. 32223 Internment at Jacksonville National Cemetery at 1 P.M.