Elizabeth M. Rowell

Elizabeth Rowell was a generous and compassionate woman who lived her life to love others. She was close to her family throughout her life and was blessed to share many years with the love of her life. Elizabeth was a woman of strong moral character whose life spanned times of plenty and times of want, times of great joy and times of sorrow. These experiences all worked together to shape Elizabeth into the graceful and kind woman who was so easy to love.

If one could turn back the hands of time to the year 1913, America was quite different than the America we know today. Henry Ford had just begun producing his Model T on an assembly line, the Federal Reserve System had just been established, and the first home electric refrigerator was put on the market. It was a significant year in the home of Victor and Alice (Kulcsar) Torok, of Windber, Pennsylvania as it was in 1913 that they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Elizabeth, on March 3rd. Elizabeth’s earliest years were spent in Windber located in the southern portion of the state which at the time was a place of industrial activities which included coal mining, lumbering, and the manufacture of fire brick. Elizabeth was one of six children in her family and her father worked as a coal miner until his diagnosis of black lung disease, caused by inhaling coal dust, forced him to get a job outdoors. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth’s parents moved to Fowler, Michigan in 1922 with their children including Elizabeth’s younger sister Mary. Once there, Elizabeth’s father worked on many different farms in the area in order to support his family.

Although times were tough financially for her family, Elizabeth fondly recalls her childhood as years in which she truly enjoyed life. By the time the Great Depression hit in 1929, the financial strain was acutely felt across the country, and especially within the farming industry in Michigan. Elizabeth was a serious child and attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Fowler where she completed her studies through the eighth grade. Like so many young people of this generation, Elizabeth found work in order to help make ends meet. She cleaned several homes and also did laundry for several families in the Fowler area.

It was also during this time that Elizabeth met a young man with whom she would share numerous years of love. His name was Fred Rowell and he worked at a local dairy farm where Elizabeth’s family purchased their milk. Elizabeth and Fred dated for awhile during which time they enjoyed going to silent movies together. As a young woman Elizabeth also enjoyed going to taverns with her friends. Fred was never far from her mind, however, and after dating for a time the couple was married on June 10, 1933. The newlyweds settled in together near Fowler where they remained all throughout their married lives.

In so many ways, Elizabeth was a genuine woman who was beautiful on the inside and out. She was always very close to her siblings, but especially to her younger sister Mary. Elizabeth was a generous woman who was always looking for ways in which to help others, and she was accepting and loving towards everyone she met. She had a very strong work ethic and was firm in her convictions as well. Elizabeth had such a tender spirit and enjoyed the companionship of her poodle Fluffy for several years.

Life turned in a new direction for Elizabeth when she and Fred moved to Hazel I Findlay Country Manor located in St. Johns in 1982. She remained there for 27 years and fit right in to her new surroundings. Elizabeth enjoyed participating in several activities there including outings to parades and baseball games, and also playing bingo as well. She was blessed to enjoy such a sense of community there since just a few years after moving there, her beloved Fred died after he suffered complications from a fall. Since she was alone for the first time in 50 years, Elizabeth embraced her new surroundings and way of life even more as a way of adjusting to the difficult days following Fred’s death.

In 2005, Elizabeth became afflicted with heath issues of her own. She was periodically in the care of Hospice throughout the last four years of her life until she finally drew her last breath surrounded by her loving family.

Like a stunning rainbow, Elizabeth Rowell brought so much color to the world in which she lived just by being who she was each and every day. She was generous and compassionate, and was always genuinely concerned about others. Elizabeth enjoyed being social and having fun, but her most treasured moments were the ones spent surrounded by her family. Although her life was not without hardship, Elizabeth took each moment she was given and found joy in even the simplest of things. She will be dearly missed by those she leaves behind.

Elizabeth M. Rowell died on November 18, 2009. Elizabeth’s family includes her sister, Mary Brown Johnson; sister in law, Martha Falk; and many nieces and nephews.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her husband, Fred; infant son; parents; brother, Victor Torok; sisters, Bertha Miller, Alice Rowell, Goldie Kaloz; brothers in law, William Kaloz, Roy Miller, Norman Brown, Frank, Carl, and Alfred Rowell; and sisters in law, Dorothy Torok, and Minnie Martens. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, November 21, 2009 at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, with Rev. Fr. Dennis Howard officiating, burial at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 7-9 p.m., Friday, with rosaries being prayed at 3 and 8 p.m., at the Goerge Chapel of Osgood Funeral Homes, 11112 W. Ionia St., Fowler. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you can leave a favorite memory or photo, or sign the online guestbook.