Rosalie Ruth (Dean) Holen

Rosalie Ruth Dean was born on April 29,1939 in Benkelman, Nebraska to a large and loving family, whose lives spanned three centuries. She passed away on August 24, 2025 in North Bend, Washington, surrounded by her children and grandchildren, all of whom adored her.

Shortly after her birth, her five brothers and two sisters put their favorite names in a hat and withdrew her beautiful first and middle names.

“I remember the boys wrapping me up in a blanket that had been warmed by the pot-bellied stove, and tucking me into what they called my rabbit hole to sleep for the night. Our home wasn’t heated at night as dad was always afraid of fire while we were sleeping. Fire is how they lost their farm home, barn and all the animals. He didn’t want to lose his family too. We slept under warm wool blankets, on mattresses on the floor of the cold attic of our tiny house.” Two years prior to Rosalie’s birth, after surviving the Dust Bowl and enduring years of the Great Depression, the Dean family farm had burned to the ground. Rosalie’s father, Rufus Clyde Dean (born October 12, 1886) then went to work managing the public utilities facility for their small town. This was an important job for the town but a routine job for her father, considering he had spent his late teens and early twenties as a US Marshall for the Oklahoma territory, traveling on horseback. Her mother, Dorothy Mae (Martin) Dean (born July 15, 1897), worked as a cook and waitress at the Truck Stop Café while raising their eight children.

Rosalie’s second oldest brother, Lein Sanford Dean (born May 20,1915) was drafted in 1943 and sent to battle during WWII. Rosalie and her mother took the train from Nebraska to San Diego to visit her brother before he shipped out to the Philippines. “I thought it was great fun, as we rode the train with all the young service men heading to California bases. They were especially kind to me and my mother. Mom worked in the strawberry fields to earn money while we were in California. I was able to be with her the whole time and would pick really large berries so my boxes filled up fast.” Rosalie admired her older brother, Lein, but said he was never the same after he came home from The War.

“My brother Harold, was a creative cake decorator at the bakery and also worked at the Sale Barn, bringing home little piglets to be fed out, using scraps from the bakery and the Café to feed the piglets which were then used to feed the family. After the pig was butchered, it was laid out in the back room of our home and salted down to preserve it until we were ready to prepare the meat for the table. Harold even brought home an old Mare from the Sale Barn. I was thrilled when he woke me up and put me up on this big horse’s back. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world.” She also remembered her father giving her a quarter to take to the Livestock auction and pick out her own pet. She came home with big white bunny. When she was a little older, after her beloved dog, Sandy died, her brothers brought home a kitten for her. Her entire life, she always had room for little animals.

“When I started kindergarten, Harold held my hand and walked me to school my first day. I felt so lucky to have a big brother who cared so much for me. When it rained, we had to be especially careful because there were flash floods out of the canyons. The water would run six to eight feet deep right at the spot where I would walk to school. One year, we had an especially hard flash flood where the water ran eight feet deep at the crossing and toppled an enormous cotton wood tree. The roots were something to behold and the kids came from all round the community to see inside and eventually we made it into a fort. We had so much fun in that root fort.”

Rosalie was baptized in the Church and became an active member of the choir where she fell in love with singing. During her teenage years she formed a madrigal trio with her best friends and they sang at events all over town, including on the local television station, winning a state wide contest. She was a member of the Drama Club and played the clarinet and drums in her high school band. She also painted a giant mural of the school tiger mascot on the gymnasium floor. Later, in her twenties and early thirties, she shared these artistic and musical talents with churches, where she was a Sunday school teacher for pre-school age children and would create magnificent holiday displays in the sanctuaries. Another brother, Doyle, was in the navy and stationed in Guam. He missed his baby sister so much that he offered to have her come and live with him and his wife to finish out her high school years. She chose to stay in Benkelman, to graduate with her friends, but Doyle continued to look out for her for the rest of his life. During her junior and senior years of high school, she worked three nights a week as a switchboard operator at the Benkelman Telephone Company to earn money for college. She graduated third in her class.

Rosalie attended the University of Nebraska on academic scholarship majoring in Business Administration. She was a member of the Pi-Beta Phi Sorority, the Wagoneers drill team and a cheerleader. She travelled to many away games all over the Midwest. Her sophomore year she met F. Kent Holen, also a student at UNK and editor of the school paper. They were married on August 23,1959. They welcomed their first daughter, Jayne Louise in 1961, a son, Jeffrey Kent three years later and youngest, Jill René, in 1968, two years after moving the family to Overland Park, Kansas.

In 1973 the young family moved to Littleton, Colorado and Rosalie reluctantly joined the workforce, to cope with staggering inflation. She earned $1.60/hour as a proof operator in the basement of Chatfield Bank, working a 10-key machine for 8 hours a day. In 1982 she received “Employee of the Year “award at Chatfield Bank and the Community Partnership Award for her work with youth, training and supervising high school students for jobs at the bank. She was also recognized for her work supporting the Columbine Children’s Theater. By the late eighties, her intelligence and strong work ethic led to her becoming President of banks in Brighton and Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

An accomplished seamstress, Rosalie made most of her own clothes as well as clothes for her three children. Ready-made patterns were easy for her, so she would often make her own designs based on her own personal style. When her youngest daughter was in high school, she made her prom dresses. One was an 1890’s saloon style, red taffeta gown with a mermaid ruffle at the bottom. The other was a Ginger Rogers style gown in white paisley silk with a high slit on the side. Anything she could dream up, she could bring to life.

In 1988, Rosalie went to work for Farm Credit Services, Inc. as a Program Director, working with consultants and task force members from across the country, organizing conferences and seminars for Directors, Vice Presidents and Officers. She enjoyed this job, made many friends and worked there until she retired in 2009.

In 2023, she moved to North Bend, Washington to live with her daughters. She had always dreamed of living in the Northwest. She enjoyed the soft rain, overcast skies and all things green. As her mind and body faded, her spirit grew stronger. She was overflowing with “I love you’s” and, “you’re so beautiful”.

Rosalie is survived by her children: Jayne Ulander of North Bend, Washington, Jeff Holen and his wife, Jane, of Timnath, Colorado, and Jill Lessig of Seattle. Also, she is survived by her grandchildren, Ethan and Cassie Holen, Luke Holen and Lilly Roser, Landon Kellogg, Abby Kellogg, Tommy Lessig and Sarah Lessig. Her family is comforted in knowing that she is at peace, free of pain and with her Savior, Jesus Christ, for eternity.