Sister Mary Rosanne Rottinghaus

Sister Mary Rosanne Rottinghaus, PBVM, 87, died on Friday, January 15, 2021, at Sisters of the Presentation Motherhouse (Mount Loretto), 2360 Carter Road, Dubuque, Iowa 52001.

Private visitation and funeral services will be held on January 19, 2021, in Sacred Heart Chapel, Sisters of the Presentation. Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Key West. 

Sister Mary Rosanne, daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Gudenkauf), was born Rose Marie Rottinghaus on February 19, 1933, in Dougherty, Iowa.  She entered the Sisters of the Presentation from Charles City, Iowa, on September 8, 1951, and professed her perpetual vows on June 10, 1957.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Loras College and served as music teacher and parish liturgist in Algona, Cedar Falls, Clare, Key West, Dubuque, Fairbank, Humboldt, Marion and Whittemore, all in Iowa, and in Timber Lake, South Dakota. She was also a pastoral associate in Osage, Iowa.  Reflecting on her years of ministry, she said, “I found each of these areas very satisfying. People were so supportive and grateful.”

Sister Rosanne retired to Mount Loretto in 2000, where she appreciated living a more contemplative life and spending time with her siblings (Sisters Michael (2007) and Anthony (2014)).  The three sisters kept the Mount Loretto dining room decorated for the seasons and celebrations.  Sister Rosanne also appreciated her community sisters, especially the elderly and ailing. She celebrated her 60th Jubilee in 2011. Sister Rosanne valued prayer and community service and had a special gift for music.

Surviving are her brother Joseph (Delores), sisters-in-law Theresa (Raymond) Rottinghaus and Dixie (James) Rottinghaus, many beloved nieces and nephews, and the Sisters of the Presentation, with whom she shared her life for 69 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Winifred (John) Merfeld, Mary Catherine (Robert) Clark, Sister Mary Michael (Henrietta) Rottinghaus, and Sister Mary Anthony (Frances) Rottinghaus and her brothers Anthony “Bud”, Raymond, Raphael, and James.

The Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be made to the Sisters of the Presentation, 2360 Carter Road, Dubuque, IA 52001 or online at: www.dbqpbvms.org.

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