Dorothy Juanita Rose

Dorothy Juanita (Woody) Rose passed into the arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ, on April 15, 2018, at Elmcroft Senior Living, Newton Road, Raleigh, NC. The staff at Elmcroft and those on her Transitions team made her final year comfortable, joyful, and purposeful. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Dorothy was born to Charles H. Woody and Ida Evelyn (Rymer) Woody on September 28, 1924, in Benton, Tennessee. She was the youngest of 9 children, 4 of whom had died before Dorothy's birth. She never forgot her love of the Smoky Mountains and the family farm and the family's general store. Although she moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan at 14, she always considered herself a Southern country girl. Her love of music, especially with a Tennessee sound, was known by everyone. She sang in a church choir in every town she moved to, and even in her last year Dorothy attended most of the musical activities at Elmcroft, singing from memory all the verses of most of the old hymns and country love ballads, and even a little Honky Tonk. She always followed and knew the songs on the Hit Parade. The Lord was merciful to allow her to keep all those old memories alive, even when recent years were a fog.

In 1941, she met her future husband, a handsome Navy man, with whom she shamelessly flirted through parted curtains from her house to the parted curtains at his house across the road. You might say it was love at first "sightings". She and Fred married on April 7, 1944, while he was home for a break from the war. Fred was her first and only love. They remained married until his death in 1991.

Dorothy was a devoted wife to her career military husband, who served in WWII and Korea, first in the Navy, including Pearl Harbor, and then in the Air Force. She kept her home and family together during her husband's multiple deployments.

She loved working, and worked in many fields: homemaker, retail sales woman, real estate sales woman, bank teller, and receptionist. She fulfilled a lifelong goal to get her high school diploma by completing the GED in 1995 while in her early 70's. She was chosen to be the key speaker at her graduation, and was probably the happiest and proudest graduate in the room. Her hard work that year set an example for many other older students.

Dorothy was active in church all her life, and was dedicated to raising her five children in the nurture of the Lord and in the fellowship of the church -- from the cradle roll into adulthood. She was born anew into Christ in childhood, and was baptized in the river near her home in Tennessee. She received an incredible heritage from her Mom, Ida, who was as saintly as can be. Dorothy also left a legacy of faith for her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Dorothy is survived by her five children, Juanita Ruth Perry ( husband Frank) of Raleigh, NC, Fred Daniel Rose (wife Joan) of Owings, MD, James Aaron Rose (wife Louise) of Allentown, NJ, William Michael Rose (wife Pam) of Port Republic, MD, and Karen Lee Waite (husband Dennis) of Dover, DE; her nine grandchildren, James A. Rose Jr., William M. Rose Jr., Louie A. Rose, Jeremiah Rose, Charles M. Waite, Laura R. Humphreys, Rebecca A. Redmond, Josh Stone, and Scott Stone; and her fifteen great grandchildren, Jessica, Erin, Andrew, Troy, Zuri, Lydia, Joshua, Marianna, Esther, Caleb, Hannah, Ruth Anne, Daniel, Isaac, and Mercy.Dorothy is predeceased by her beloved husband, Morris Alfred Rose; her parents Charles H. and Ida E. Woody; and her siblings, sisters Naomi Vandentoorn and Ruth Lyle, and brothers, Troy Woody and William O. Woody.