A Celebration of Life for Tillie Rosenow, age 95 of Aberdeen, formerly of Hettinger, ND, will be held at 1:00pm MT, Monday, March 21, 2016 at the Hettinger Lutheran Church. Pastor Kathleen Dettmann will officiate with burial in the Hettinger Cemetery.


A gathering of friends and family will be held at 7:00pm on Sunday evening at the Centennial Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger. Visitation will be on Sunday from 1:00pm to 7:00pm MT at the Centennial Chapel of the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Hettinger.

Tillie Rosenow was born May 27, 1920 on the Oberlander family homestead, near the Tepee Buttes south of Havelock, ND, the 8th child of 13 children born to Fred and Caroline (Kaseman) Oberlander. She was baptized, confirmed and married in the Tepee Butte Lutheran Church. She graduated from Bucyrus High School in 1939, the first of her family to do so. While living in the Darling Springs Community she met her future husband, Earl Rosenow. They were married on March 14, 1940. To this union three children were born: Larry, Carolyn and LaVon. They spent most of their married life on the farm north of Reeder, ND, where Tillie raised big vegetable gardens and beautiful flowers as well as other farm wife duties. In 1980, Tillie and Earl retired to Hettinger, ND where she lived until moving in 2012 to Davis Court Senior community in Aberdeen, SD to be closer to her children. Earl passed away in 1986 and Tillie lived independently until her passing. She was always involved with church and community activities. She belonged to the Darling Springs Homemakers Club, Wolf Butte and Hettinger Lutheran Ladies Aid and Women Alone friendship club. She did numerous hours of volunteer work which included fixing hair for 36 years at the Hettinger Nursing Home, quilting at the church and contributing to many community projects.

She also bowled until her mid 80's. Guests at her home always felt welcome and never left hungry! In her early years, Tillie was quite the tomboy and preferred working outdoors, rather than indoor work. However, after her marriage, she loved having a clean house and guests in her home were always warmly welcomed and never went home hungry! She enjoyed a good game of cards, playing a variety of card games, and was lucky at winning. She bowled into her mid eighties, and was excited to achieve high scores. Tillie started keeping a diary in 1965 and wrote in it daily until up to a week of her passing. Another of her many talents was being the neighborhood weather watcher, and many times her predictions were accurate. Tillie will be remembered for her wonderful sense of humor, she always enjoyed a good laugh, and her humor remained with her in her final days.

Her strong Christian faith along with her family was the center of her life and her faith always sustained her during the difficult times. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.

Tillie passed away peacefully with her family at her side on Sunday, March 13, 2016 at the Avera St. Luke's Davis Court in Aberdeen.

Surviving family members include her son, Larry (Sharon) Rosenow, Aberdeen, SD, two daughters, Carolyn (Chuck) Carter, Wilmot, SD; LaVon (Gregory) Bunker, Wittenberg, WI; seven grandchildren, Chad (Tara) Carter, Colby (Luz) Carter, Carrie (Eric) Gill, Zachary (Cassandra Raphael) Smith, Tyler (Kristi) Smith, James Rosenow , and Heather (Dale Rombeck) Bunker; four great grandchildren, Jalen Carter, Nevaeh Carter, Emmie Gill, Chloe Gill, and step-grandaughter, Zoe Jung.

Tillie is also survived by one brother and two sisters-in-law, Harold and Vaudeth Oberlander, Rapid City, SD; Mary Oberlander, New England, ND; two sisters and two brothers-in-law, Helen and Harvey Green, Mott, ND; Lorraine and Bill Bruckner, Easton, MD; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Earl, four brothers and sisters-in-law, Adam (Clara) Oberlander, Fred (Selma) Oberlander, Benny (Donelda) Oberlander, and Edward Oberlander, five sisters and six brothers-in-law, Pauline (Gottlieb) Schwartz, Rose (Christ) Hoffer, Ida (Adolph) Sprecher, Elsie (Cletus) Johnson, Betty (Lowell) Ruggles, and John Hjemvick.

A memorial has been established.