Roscelia “Rose” M. Lease
November 19, 1923 – January 16, 2023
Roscelia “Rose” Lease, 99, of Appleton, Wisconsin, formerly of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, died Jan. 16, 2023.
Rose was born Nov. 19, 1923, in the Town of Amherst, Portage County, Wisconsin, to the late Iner and Emma (Gartzke) Kjendalen and was baptized in Scandinavia Lutheran Church.
After the death of their mother, she and her sister made their home with the Henry Kjendalen family of Iola, attending the local schools through 10th grade. She was confirmed at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in 1936.
After their father’s remarriage, Rose and her sister moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, graduated from Washington High School in 1940, and attended Augustana College two years. Rose graduated from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, in 1944 with a B.A. degree with honors, majoring in History and Sociology.
She taught in Minnesota high schools for three years, then attended the Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis, graduating in 1949.
Rose was a Parish Worker at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Forest City, Iowa, until her marriage there on Aug. 18, 1951 to the Rev. Henry Lease of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, then serving a multiple parish at Mizpah, Minnesota. He died in 1995.
Rose was a partner in ministry with her husband, serving as secretary, choir director, leader in Parish Education, youth and women’s programs in the Otter Creek-Fairview Parish, Highland, Wisconsin; French Creek Lutheran Church, rural Ettrick, Wisconsin; and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Iola. They retired in 1984 and moved to Stevens Point, where she was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, active in the women’s program in leadership, as a volunteer for Lutheran World Relief Projects, and a member and Bible Study Leader in the former Truth Circle.
Rose was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.Her interests included reading, scrapbooking, history, and genealogy. She was a former member and officer of the Galesville, Wisconsin, Federated Music Study Club.
Survivors include one daughter Deborah (Timothy Galewski) Becker-Galewski, Galesville; one son, David Lease of Appleton, Wisconsin; five grandchildren, Colleen (Robert) Haynes, Megan Becker, Kellie (Joseph Stecher) Lease-Stecher, Kristen (Matthew Mittag) Lease-Mittag, and Nathan (Lauren) Lease; four great-grandchildren, Joseph Louis Stecher V, Addison Stecher, David Lease, and Henry Lease; nieces and nephews; and other cousins.
Besides her parents and husband, Rose was preceded in death by her sister Genevieve Hagen; brother-in-law Harold Hagen; Uncle Henry and Aunt, Alma Kjendalen; cousins Palmer Kjendalen, Ruth Beck, and Helen Jensen; sister-in-law Beth Brynildson; brothers-in-law, Charles Lease and Clifford Brynildson; stepmother Zelda Ditto Kjendalen; two stepsisters, Celestia (“Lettie”) Hymore and Dorothy McTigue; and stepbrother Floyd (“Jack”) Heaton. Unknown status: step-sister Martha Hilderman and Martha’s husband Richard Hilderman.
A private funeral service was held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Iola, on Jan. 21, 2023, with burial in the Scandinavia Lutheran Cemetery. Voie Funeral Home of Iola assisted the family with arrangements.