Rose Elizabeth Senft was born June 18, 1914, in Vinton of Benton County, Iowa. She was the youngest of three children, and the only daughter of John W. and Edith Schoonover Sellers. She was baptized in the Methodist Church in Vinton by Rev. Arthur Young.
Rose attended school in Vinton, graduating in 1931. She received her teaching degree from Cornell College and went to teach in the rural school system near Vinton.
Rose was united in marriage with William Howard Senft on October 11, 1935, at the Methodist Church in Shellsburg. The couple moved to Sumner in 1941, where Rose maintained the home and raised six children. In 1960, she went to work at Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner as a nurse’s aid. She took over the medical records department in 1969 and continued to her retirement in 1979.
In their retirement, Rose and Howard enjoyed traveling, visiting children and grandchildren in different parts of the world. They also worked with “Meals on Wheels” in Sumner, and remained very active in their church. In her spare time, Rose loved crocheting which kept her very busy.
A resident of the Hillcrest Home in Sumner, her death occurred there on Sunday, March 6, 2011. She was 96 years old and had been a longtime member of the Sumner United Methodist Church where she was very active in circle and worked on many committees.
Rose is survived by one daughter, Carol (Walt) Nelson of Dayton, Nevada; three sons, Bruce (Lisa) Senft of The Woodlands, Texas, Curtis (Beth) Senft of Santa Maria, California, and Duane (Barb) Senft of Postville; one daughter-in-law, Kay Senft of Orange, California; fourteen grandchildren; twenty-seven great grandchildren; and one great great granddaughter.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard in 2003; two sons, Keith in 2002, and Ronnie in 1959; her parents; and two brothers, Harry William and John Wesley.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 9, 2011, at the United Methodist Church in Sumner with Rev. Shirley Hoffmann Will officiating. Friends may call from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2011, at Becker-Milnes Funeral Home in Sumner and for one hour preceding services at the church on Wednesday. Interment will follow at Wilson Grove Cemetery in rural Sumner. The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the United Methodist Church in Sumner and be specified for the music ministry of the church.
