Rose Marie (Tinius) Block

Rose Marie (Tinius) Block, 94, died Sunday, July 24, 2022, at Baptist Floyd Hospital in New Albany, Indiana. Rose (Rosie) was born on June 25, 1928, in New Albany to the late John Frederick Tinius and Mary Mathilda “Tilly” (Ritz) Tinius and was the eighth of nine children. It was here that Rose’s strong sense of family was first instilled. Like all her siblings, she attended St. Mary’s Catholic Church and school and was proud to be a 1942 graduate. Up until her death, Rose stayed in frequent contact with many of her classmates. While growing up, the Catholic Community Center (now the Cardinal Ritter Knights of Columbus) in New Albany played an important role in her life as it did for many in the area. When Fr. Carey from St. Mary’s formed a girls’ basketball team, The Comets, Rose joined. They played at the Catholic Community Center as well as in Louisville and she still has the uniform she wore. She graduated from New Albany High School in 1946. She was hired as a clerk at Louisville Gas & Electric and this is where she met Will Block. The two of them married in 1951 and started a life that lasted 68 years until Will died in July of 2020. After their marriage, they resided in New Albany where their family life centered around St. Mary’s and instilling in their nine children a deep connection to Catholic values and faith. The family continued to foster this connection through their patronage of Providence High School which all nine children attended from 1967 – 1985. To help out with the demands of having 9 children, Rose babysat in the home up until her youngest was in school, and then she began a career of working in the cafeteria at Providence High School for nearly two decades. Here she kept an eye on her youngest children as well as some of the older grandchildren who attended school there. Throughout the years, Rose attended countless sports games with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In addition to being many family members’ number one fan, Rose had many other interests and hobbies. She joined the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary, where Will was also a Grand Knight, and where Rose was very proud of the pies she made for the fish fries. Rose had a lifelong love of gambling that ranged from playing cards, pull-tabs, bingo, and purchasing her weekly scratch-offs. And let’s not forget her affinity for the casino! Some of her favorite pastimes include fishing, bird-watching, listening to music, reminiscing, and baking. Some of her signature dishes include springerlies, chocolate éclair, and strawberry cake. She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Mary Ann Reed, granddaughter Stacie Block and siblings Fred “Fritz” Tinius, Marie Braunbeck, Bill Tinius, George “Tooter” Tinius, Frank “Murph” Tinius, Margaret “Marg” Gunther, Paul “Pat” Tinius, and John “Jake” Tinius. She is survived by her children Dan Block (Susie), Patty Geswein (Jim), Susan Block, Nancy Miller (Kevin), Bill Block, David Block (Sandy), Janie Block Spitznagel, and Rosie Block Shannon, 22 grandchildren, and 46 great-grandchildren, and son-in-law Steve Reed. Visitation will be from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7 pm Thursday, July 28, 2022, at Kraft Funeral Service at 708 E. Spring Street, New Albany, IN. Rose’s Funeral Mass will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 29, 2022, at St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church, New Albany, IN with burial to follow in the church cemetery. For those unable to attend in person, the mass will be live-streamed on St. Mary of the Annunciation’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stmarysnewalbany. Expressions of sympathy in Rose’s memory may be made to the Providence High School Endowment Fund in memory of Rose and Will Block or St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kraftfuneralservice.net for the Block family.