Joan "Jo" Rosendale

Joan “Jo” Rose Rosendale, 91, of Delphos, Ohio, passed away on September 27, 2021, surrounded by loving family.

Jo was born on October 23, 1929 to Albert “Brownie” and Louise “Lula” Schneider in Wapakoneta, Ohio. She graduated from Delphos St. John’s High School in 1947.

In 1950 she met and married George William “Bill” Rosendale, Jr. while staying with her sister in Norfolk, Virginia. They had 8 children, and amicably divorced in 1989. Bill was an officer in the US Navy, and during their marriage they lived many places in the US and abroad; returning to Delphos in 1972 for the remainder of her life. In her later years she was the loving companion of Harry Dunlap of Delphos, who pre-deceased her. She had several jobs over the years, including high school cafeteria lunch lady, wallpaper hanger, drapery sewing, and most significantly 15 years of sales at the Lazarus cosmetics counter.

She was the youngest of the 9 Schneider girls; at her birth the Wapakoneta paper printed “Brownie Schneider’s all girl baseballs team is now complete with the birth of their daughter Joan Rose Schneider”.

As a military wife she ran a household full of children (often in unfamiliar places or abroad) while her husband was frequently deployed. Her children never saw her hard work and effort, finally understanding as adults how truly strong she had been when she needed to be – with never a word of complaint.

She was loved by every person who knew her; whether it was family, friends from her frequent moves, or coworkers. She very much enjoyed her cosmetics job at Lazarus, which was also a perfect job for a woman with 7 daughters; and where she and her co-workers were (fondly) referred to as "the cosmetic bags".

Jo and her sister Helen promised each other when the first died, the other would become mom to her children. Jo fulfilled that promise and became “aunt mom” to Helen’s 9 children, who have cared for her as much as for their own mother, and for which Jo’s eight original children will be forever grateful.

Jo shared her love for reading, movies, music, games, cards, and a lot of laughter with her children, family, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents and by her sisters Florentine “Teenie” Hanf, Louise “Weezy” Mabry, Irene “Reenie” Stearns, Alberta “Bert” Helpling, Pauline “Pepper” Bibler, Mary Esser, Mildred “Millie” Metzger and Helen Rode. Also preceded in death by former husband Bill Rosendale, loving companion of 10 years Harry Dunlap, sons-in-law Dick Braun and Dennis Newland, and nephews Dan and Tony Rode.

She is survived by her children Kathi (Ron) Muela of Poway, CA, Angie (Kurt) Wilson of Coeur d’Alene, ID, Sandi (Jim) Swanson, of Grove City, OH, Nancy (Dave) Jenkins, of Westerville, OH, Lori Braun, of Elida, OH, Elaine (Mike) McCormack, of Spencerville, OH, Glen Rosendale, of Palo Alto, CA, and Valerie (Kevin) Batson, of St Louis, MO. Also survived by grandchildren Brian (Rebecca) Jenkins, Tim (Robyn) Jenkins, Erik Wilson, Krista Muela (Drew) Wilson, and Jack Willoughby; and by great-grandchildren Kolton Jenkins, Kelsee Jenkins, Mia Jenkins, Kade Wilson and Addi Wilson.

Graveside Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 3, 2021, at St. John Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, 2021, at Harter & Schier Funeral Home. There will be a Remembrance Ceremony at 5:00 p.m. where memories of Jo can be shared.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the St. Jude’s Foundation.  You can follow this link https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html then check the box "Dedicate my donation" and complete the form to make a donation in Jo's name and let her family know of your gift to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.