Cara Rosson

She was born December 2, 1970 in Goshen, NY. Surviving are her parents, Stephen and Teresa (Urban) Andrichak of Sterling, PA, her husband, Doug Rosson of Peoria, their two wonderful children, Haynes Daniel and Gabriel Stephen Rosson, one brother, Chris Andrichak (Jacquelyn Fung) of San Francisco, CA, and two nieces, Chiara and Stella.

Cara grew up in Goshen, NY, and attended Goshen Central HS. Her lifelong love of theatre started in the musicals she performed in during high school. Cara went on to receive a BFA in Theatre from Montclair State University in 1993. She completed a prestigious summer internship at the Circle Repertory in NYC in 1991.

After Montclair she moved to Seattle and become very involved in the small theatre scene. She had several acting roles, directed several plays, and worked on many other productions. She also served as Development Director of the Annex Theatre company for three years. She met Doug Rosson and they were married on October 17, 1998.

Her next stop was in Tallahassee, where she received an MFA in Theatre Studies from Florida State University in 2001. While there she and Doug had both sons, and Cara worked for the FSU Foundation as a prospect researcher.

Cara and family moved to Peoria where Doug took a position at Bradley University. She was quickly hired to do development research at Bradley. She recently co-authored two books on fundraising and prospect research. Cara last worked as a recruiter for BizWerks until she was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.

Cara was an impassioned advocate for causes she believed in. She worked with the Peoria Families Against Toxic Waste campaign and was a board member of the local ACLU chapter. She found a spiritual home and welcoming community at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Peoria, where she was the Stewardship Chair, a former board member, and involved with all aspects of the church.

Cara was always willing to help, always wanted to be involved, and always ready to stand up for people or causes she believed in. She described herself as a 'raging liberal' but easily made friends and impressed people from all over the spectrum. Cara had the energy of three people, and freely shared that energy and her love with everyone around her.

A memorial Service was held on August 3 at the UU Church in Peoria. Burial of the urn will be at a later date in Pennsylvania

Memorials may be made to her children.