Rosemary "Rosie" Alice (Phillips) York

In Loving Memory of

Rosemary “Rosie” Alice York

Rosemary York was born on April 15th, 1959, in Owatonna, Minnesota to Eldred and Mary Trettel Phillips. She grew up on a farm in Deerfield Township, Steele County MN. She attended Medford Public Schools, graduating in 1977. After high school, she studied at Mankato State University for four years, graduating in 1982 with a degree in elementary education. She spent the next few years teaching. In 1985, Rosie moved to Lake Wilson, MN working as a special education teacher for Chandler-Lake Wilson Schools.  Rosie met James York, a Lake Wilson farmer, in 1985. They were married on August 1st, 1987. Then in 1989, Rosie finished her master’s degree. Jim and Rosie had a son, Mark, and two daughters, Laura and Linnea. Rosie was a dedicated special education teacher to hundreds of students at Chandler-Lake Wilson Schools and Murray County Central Schools until her retirement in 2015. She taught for 33 years.  Rosie loved being the wife of a farmer and a mother to her three children. Outside of work, Rosie enjoyed making hotdishes for her family, gardening, hanging laundry outside in the summer, playing piano, going to church, and going for walks. She also was a very competitive Kings on Corner card player.  Rosie fought Parkinson’s for over a decade while keeping a cheerful attitude and a strong faith in God. She continued to be a homemaker, spend time with her family and grandkids, and travel through it all. She passed away on Palm Sunday, April 13th, at the Pipestone County Hospice Home with her family by her side at the age of 65.

Survivors include her husband, Jim, her children: Mark of Washington D.C., Laura Ahrendt and husband Andrew of New Hope, MN, and Linnea of Minneapolis, MN, and two grandchildren, Ada and Oliver Ahrendt. She is also survived by her three siblings: Cathy Glovka and husband, Larry of Owatonna, MN, Carol Anderson and husband, Charlie of Owatonna, MN, and Mike Phillips of Medford, MN. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral Services

St. Ann’s Church in Slayton, MN on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 10:30 A.M. with Fr. Peter Schuster officiating.  The organist is Sharon Lais.  The song leader is Sheila Crowley.  Interment is at Hillside Cemetery in Lake Wilson, MN. 

Visitation will be on Monday, April 21, 2025, at St. Ann’s Church from 4-6 p.m. and one hour prior to the services at the church on Tuesday.  Totzke Funeral Home of Slayton is entrusted with arrangements. To send condolences visit totzkefuneralhome.com

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