Rosemary Rita Braun

On an ordinary day in October, an extraordinary woman died. Rosemary Rita Braun, 96, of Orange City, IA, passed away Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, at The Waterford at Miracle Hills in Omaha, NE.

Memorial mass will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alton, with Father Daniel Greving officiating and Deacon Dan Goebel and Deacon Jim Obradovich assisting. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Granville, IA. Visitation with family present will be 4-7 p.m. on Thursday, there will be a parish rosary and vigil prayer service at 5 p.m. all at the church.  Visitation will resume one hour before the service on Friday at the church. Services have been entrusted to Fisch Funeral Home & Monument in Remsen.  The funeral will be available to watch later that day and online condolences may be sent to www.fischfh.com

Rosemary was born May 22, 1925, in Le Mars, IA, the daughter of Peter and Catherine (Hodapp) Klein. She was raised in the Granville, IA area and received her education at St. Joseph Catholic School where she graduated in 1946. She then worked for R.J. Tentinger in Le Mars, IA. 

On July 23, 1946, she married Leo Braun of Alton, IA. The couple made their home on a farm south of Granville. Leo passed away July 4, 1990. Rosemary continued to live on the farm until 2002 when she moved to Orange City, IA.   

She was a devout member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and the Catholic Daughters in Granville and St. Mary’s Catholic Church and St. Mary’s Rosary Society in Alton. She taught religious education in Granville. 

Rosemary loved going walleye fishing with Leo, her children and grandchildren, and for decades playing cards with her pinochle card clubs. Her time was spent traveling around the world, driving endless miles to attend her grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s school activities and taking fun-filled family vacations. She started her exercise program at the age of 50 by walking daily the section around the farm (for you city folks, that would be four miles). She worked out at Curves and enjoyed her water aerobics in Sioux Center until she was 94. She also enjoyed reading many mystery books. 

Rosemary was a beloved mother of 13 children and the wife of her late husband, Leo, for 44 years. Education was a high priority for Rosemary and Leo and one of their legacies was all 12 of their children graduated from a post-secondary school in the State of Iowa. In 1979, during National Education Week, Iowa Governor Robert Ray recognized them for their belief in higher education with a trip to Des Moines to have their family photo taken with the Governor and his wife. 

She was very loved and will be terribly missed by her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all who knew her. She is now happily together with Jesus and as he promised, we will all see her again in Heaven. Our mother lived and died on her own terms. Well done, Mom. Well done. 

Survivors include 12 children, Michael (Carol) Braun of Wymore, NE; Georgia Abboud of LaVista, NE; Alice (Ron) McGrath of Buckingham, IA; Theresa (Marlyn) Abels of Cedar Falls, IA; Lea (Charles) Morse of Highlands Ranch, CO; Diane Watts of Aurelia, IA; Jeanine (Craig) Steffensmeier of Mt. Pleasant, IA; Lenore Braun of Lakewood, CO; Anthony (Stacy) Braun of Chandler, AZ; Dr. Peter (Renae) Braun of Pine, CO; Mary Braun of Clive, IA; Patrick (Staci) Braun of Van Meter, IA; 21 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Tom (Charlene) Braun of Alton, IA; sister-in-law, Doris Braun of Remsen, IA. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, an infant daughter, Rita; brothers Hilary and Charles Klein and three brothers in infancy (Peter, Joseph and John); two sons-in-law, Chuck Abboud and Ralph Watts; one grandchild, Bryan McGrath; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Milton and Kay Delperdang, Cyril and Rose Mary Ortmann, Gib and Margaret Schrier, Arthur Braun Jr. and Pauline Klein. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Senior Companion Program of Greater Siouxland, 1510 14th Street, Rock Valley IA 51247 or online at rvrseniorvolunteerprograms.org; St. Mary's Catholic Church, 609 10th Street, Alton IA 51003 or to the funeral home for the wishes of the family.