Rosemary C. Heitkamp, 88
Rosemary C. Heitkamp, 88, formerly of New Bremen, died at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Grande Lake Healthcare Center in St. Marys, where she had resided for the past few years. She was born on Aug. 10, 1932 near New Bremen, the daughter of the late Erney and Elenora (Dammeyer) Koeper.
On Oct. 9, 1954 she married Paul H. Heitkamp in Cassella and Paul died on Sept. 2, 2009. Surviving are her children: Dale (Steph) Heitkamp of New Bremen and Dean (Kate) Heitkamp of Olathe, Kansas; her four grandchildren: Christopher, Adam, Ryan and Abby; her only sibling, sister Annabelle Wenning of St. Marys and inlaws: Bob (Charlene) Heitkamp of Cassella and Janet Stevens of Lompoc, California. Along with her parents and husband, Rosie was preceded in death by several brothers and sisters-in-law.
Rosie was a 1950 graduate of New Bremen High School. She was a faithful member of St. Paul United Church of Christ in New Bremen. Over the years, she worked as a bookkeeper/ driver for the former Advanced Auto in New Bremen and later was the curator for the New Bremen Historic Association. Before her retirement, she had worked for the former Riggs Food Express in New Bremen where she kept track of the truck driver’s mileage logs. Family was an important part of Rosie’s life. She and Annabelle were great friends and spent a lot of time together sharing meals at Bolly’s, sharing long phone calls, completing crossword puzzles together, and when they moved to Grande Lake, they played bingo and dominos together. She, Paul and the boys loved to travel, taking trips each summer to amusement parks, Cincinnati Reds games, Disney World and trips out west. When the daughters-in-law and grandchildren came along, Rosie was so happy. She loved her grandchildren and enjoyed spending time with them. Rosie loved to socialize. She enjoyed playing cards, belonging to two different Bridge groups, and enjoyed when her classmates would get together. She had been a member of the American Legion Post No. 241 Auxiliary and the New Bremen Historic Association.
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at St. Paul United Church of Christ in New Bremen, with Rev. Becky Erb Strang and Rev. Dee Schroer officiating. Inurnment will follow in the German Protestant Cemetery of New Bremen. Calling hours will be held on Wednesday at the church, one hour prior to the services, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Memorial contributions can be made to New Bremen American Legion Auxiliary, New Bremen Historic Association or to St. Paul UCC. Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen has been entrusted with the services and online condolences to the family can be left at GilbergHartwigFH.com.