Rosalie Delphine Hasenfus, 80, passed away at Mid Coast Hospital on April 11, peacefully, surrounded by her family.
Rosalie was born on Jan. 24, 1938, the daughter of Delphine DeMers and LaVerne Erickson in Rice Lake, Wis. She lived in numerous small towns in Wisconsin and Minnesota until her family settled in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1949. She graduated from St. Thomas High School in 1955, after which she attended an airline ticketing agent program. However, instead of working for an airline, she accepted a secretarial position at the Pentagon where she met her future husband, Walter Hasenfus. They married on May 4, 1957. They made their home in Bingham, Appleton, and Old Town, and summered in Five Islands. In 1965, they moved to Lyndonville, Vt., where her husband was an education professor at Lyndon State College.
While living in Lyndonville, Rosalie and her husband raised five children. She was involved in the Women’s Club and the Altar Society of St. Elizabeth’s. She and her family were members of the local outing club, where they enjoyed skiing. She was a busy homemaker, who especially enjoyed sewing and hand crafting her children’s Halloween costumes.
In 1974 the family returned to summering in Maine, this time in Boothbay Harbor, where Rosalie and her husband ran a glass blowing business. In 1978, the family moved permanently to Boothbay Harbor to run the business year-round. Rosalie was an active parishioner of Our Lady Queen of Peace. She was an avid reader, enjoyed crossword puzzles, playing Yahtzee with her daughters, and cards and cribbage with everyone. She also enjoyed dining out with her wonderful group of friends.
Rosalie was predeceased by her parents; sister, Jeanette; husband, Walter; and son, Michael.
She is survived by sister, Diane Lindwall of San Diego, Cal.; sons, Steven Hasenfus of Bangor, and John (Patty) Hasenfus of Hinesburg, Vt., daughter, Mary (Kevin) Miller of Boothbay Harbor, and Andrea (Russell) Perkins of Wiscasset; and daughter-in-law, Noel Hasenfus of Norway. She loved to hear the many adventures of her grandchildren including: Stephanie and Nikolaus Hasenfus, Jacie (Denver) Kendrew, Renee (Robert) Carbone, Joshua (Rebecca) Miller, Jennifer (Jake Sartorius) Miller, Christopher and Jesse Perkins, Cheray Lacomis, Gayla Sheldon, Sheena Johnson, and Joshua Pike. She was proud of her great-grandchildren: Emma and Olive Carbone, Blythe and Brashen Miller, Matilda Sartorius, Lexi Kendrew, Hunter, Madison, and Wyatt Dunn, Victor, Samuel, and Dakota Sheldon, Keegan and Briana Meserve, Alexys Tracy, and Elizabeth Littlefield. She also had many, many, nieces and nephews.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m., Sat., April 21 at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Boothbay Harbor.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory (please note her name in the memo of your check), payable to Catholic Charities Maine, P.O. Box 10660, Portland, ME 04104-6060.
