Fairbury – Rosella Mae Mowery, 90, of Fairbury, passed away at 10:12am on June 12, 2013 at Fairview Haven Retirement Community, Fairbury.

Funeral will be held at 10:00 am, Monday, June 17, 2013 at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury. Pastor Daryl Evans will be officiating. Burial will be in Avoca Cemetery, Fairbury.

Visitation will be held from 2-6:00pm, Sunday, June 16, 2013 and from 9 to 9:45am Monday at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury.

Memorials may be made to Apostolic Christian Home for the Handicapped, Timber Ridge, 2125 Veterans Rd. Morton, Il 61550 or Fairview Haven Retirement Community, Fairbury.

Rosella was born December 18, 1922 in rural Fairbury, Forrest Township, the daughter of Albert and Ella C. Kilgus VonBergen. She married J. Russell Mowery on January 24, 1943 in Oakland, CA. He died January 11, 2002.

Surviving are her daughter, June (Ronald) Slagel of Fairbury; a son, Lyle (Gladys) Mowery of St. Paul, MN; daughter-in-law, Elaine Mowery of Fairbury; and grandchildren Teri (Sam) Wenger, Steven Slagel, John (Deborah) Slagel, Cheryl (Rick) Hoffman, David (Kristi) Slagel, Christine (Sean) Quigley, Ronald Slagel, Jr, Bret (Stacey) Mowery, Leslie Mowery, Lance Mowery, Brent Mowery, and Chase Mowery; and 11 great-grandchildren; a brother, Howard (Diana) VonBergen of Roseville, CA; and sisters Alberta Hurt of Bradenton, FL and Doris Wiegand of Noblesville, IN; sister-in-laws; Anna Margaret Mowery of Fairbury and Jean McHatten of Mississippi.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, a son, Dale (Brad) Mowery; a granddaughter, Diane (Slagel) Mueller; two great-grandchildren, Emma and Andrew Slagel; a brother, Robert VonBergen, an infant brother Albert VonBergen Jr. and her foster brother, Chum Kilgus.

Rosella graduated from Fairbury Township High School, and attended Parkland College and George Williams College.

She was a member of First Baptist Church of Fairbury since 1955 and a life time member of American Legion Auxiliary, American Baptist Women's Ministries, and Girl Scouts of America.

She was a registered medical secretary for Langstaff Clinic for 25 years and the nursing home administrator at Fairview Haven for 15 years.

Rosella was the recipient of the first annual Fairbury Citizen of the Year Award in 1987, recipient of VFW Community Service Award in 1994 and a recipient of RSVP "Rose Award" in 1996 and 2000.
Rosy enjoyed volunteering and devoted many years of service to Meadows Mennonite Home, Helen Lewis Smith Pavilion, and Fairbury Hospital Auxiliary. She was ready to help whomever, whenever, with whatever she could. First and foremost she liked to be with her family—baby sitting, driving grandchildren to school, games or other activities, taking them to zoos, plays, concerts and on train trips to Chicago attractions. Her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews are appreciative of the time she spent with them and the lessons they learned from her.