Mary Rowlands

Madison - Mary "Roma" Rowlands passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on December 23, 2018 after a courageous battle with pulmonary fibrosis. She was born on January 15, 1934 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, the only child of Hugh Patrick and Maud Elizabeth Ranaghan. The family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia when she was five years old. Roma graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School and the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. At university she was affiliated with Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Lambda Kappa Sigma professional pharmacy sorority. She married Robert E. Rowlands on November 14, 1959 in Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Shortly after they were married, she and her husband moved to the United States and subsequently lived in Urbana, Illinois, South Suburban Chicago (Park Forest and Flossmoor) and moved to Madison in 1975. She was licensed by examination to practice pharmacy in British Columbia, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Roma's family was her most important interest. She was the heart and soul of the Rowlands family. She volunteered at the children's functions from snow skiing to baseball to band to boy scouts to ice hockey.

She worked part-time as a pharmacist for Rennebohm/Walgreens for many years. In later years when she had an empty nest, she obtained a computer programming degree at Madison Area Technical College. Roma then worked as a pharmacist for the State of Wisconsin Medicaid program. In 2003 she was a member of a US medical team which visited Guatemala and addressed the needs of the rural people.

Roma and her husband/family traveled extensively, including to the Soviet Union, Eastern & Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Istanbul, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, UK, Ireland, Finland and northern Canada (Nunavut) - Hudson Bay and Cornwallis & Baffin Islands.

In retirement, she loved to garden and was very involved in University League Book Club and in Aerobics. She would like to thank Caroline Liedtke, Marilyn Gundermann and Jill Merckt of the aerobics group, Laura Pady-Porter of the UW Rehabilitation and the UW Health for keeping her going long after she was expected to last.

Roma was predeceased by her parents. She is dearly missed by her husband of 59 years, Bob, and sons Philip (Marianne) and their children Sean and Katie of Stoughton, WI and Ted (Erica) and their daughters Madison and Cosette of Naperville, Illinois.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at St Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 5313 Flad Avenue, Madison with visitation commencing at 10:00 a.m. There will be a luncheon followed by internment at Resurrection Cemetery, Madison.

Drs. J. Buchanan and D. Sonetti, and Agrace Hospice are thanked for the excellent care and comfort they provided her.

In place of flowers, donations can be made to Agrace HospiceCare, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Madison, WI 53711.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
608-238-3434