Rose A. Tobben

Rose Adele Tobben of Washington, passed away on July 10, 2024, her 78th Wedding Anniversary at the age of 102, at the Lenoir Senior Center of Columbia, MO. Rose was born in St. Louis, MO on April 1, 1922, the daughter of Joseph and Adele (Lewis) Latz. Her father was a business manager for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the family moved several times in her early life before settling in Houston, Texas when Rose was seven. She grew to young adulthood in Houston, then a medium sized city of 300,000. Rose was a 1939 graduate of Incarnate Word Academy in Houston. She greatly appreciated the education she received from the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, both in teaching and in moral instruction.

Rose’s life was forever changed in the latter days of World War II when her brother George brought home on leave his army buddy Omar Tobben from Washington, Missouri. It was love at first sight, or at least something closely akin to it. After a brief courtship they were married on July 10, 1946, at All Saints Catholic Church in Houston. Shortly thereafter they moved to Washington, where Rose spent all but the last few months of her life.

Rose and Omar were married for almost 69 years before his death on May 15, 2015. They were devoted to each other with Rose as a homemaker and Omar employed for decades at Sporlan Valve, eventually as plant manager. She was blessed to be able to continue living at their home until the last few months of her life.

Rose’s vocation in life was as a mother to her seven children. Her values were faith, family, and education. She modeled those values to her children every day. She was a faithful member of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish for fifty-seven years, and previously St. Francis Borgia parish for twenty-one years. Her greatest joy in her latter years was following the activities and accomplishments of her children and their families and visiting with them.

Rose is survived by her seven children and their families: Dan(Katrin) Tobben of St. Louis and their daughters Stephanie Tobben and Bettina(Geoff) Drake; Tom(Betty) Tobben of Chesterfield and their children, Janine(Justin) Noetzel, Greg(April) Tobben, Michelle(Evan) Ogonowski; Mark(Lisa) Tobben of Washington and their daughter Kaitlyn Tobben; Ann (Carl) Schaeperkoetter of Columbia, Missouri and their children Chris Schaeperkoetter, Joe Schaeperkoetter, and Claire (Colin) Zvosec; Paul (Karen) Tobben of Charlotte, North Carolina and their sons John (Brooke) Tobben, Daniel Tobben, and Michael (Paige) Tobben; Cathy Tobben of Evanston, Illinois and her son Julian Schulte; Theresa (Joe) McGowan of Washington and their children Margaret (Austin) Volmert, Caroline McGowan, and Matthew McGowan. She also leaves behind sixteen great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, neighbors, and friends.

Rose was preceded in death by her husband, Omar, her parents Joseph and Adele Latz, her brothers, George, Bill, and John Latz and their spouses, all of the state of Texas; her brothers-in-law and spouses Lawrence (Evelyn) Tobben and George (Evie) Tobben of Washington, her sisters-in-law and spouses Mary Jane and Bill Poepsel, and Dorothy and Fred Ruether, all of Washington, and Lucille and Morris Wessel of St. Charles County. She is also preceded by two Latz and six Tobben nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Monday, July 15, 2024, from 4-8 p.m. at Nieburg-Vitt, Miller Funeral Home. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Washington at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, with burial to follow at St. Francis Borgia Cemetery, Washington.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to the Omar and Rose Tobben Scholarship Fund at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School or Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Washington.

The Tobben family is being served by Nieburg-Vitt, Miller Funeral Home, Washington.

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