Rose Regina Grosse

Rose (Toots) R Grosse, age 94, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at the Waunakee Valley Assisted Living in Waunakee, Wisconsin.  She was born on November 7, 1928, in the town of Springfield Corners, the daughter of Ludwig and Gertrude (Meier) Buechner. She married Clayton Grosse on February 18, 1950.

Rose was a homemaker and Clayton’s right hand as she helped him on the dairy farm they took over from her parents while raising 4 children, proving that multitasking was no problem for her.  In later years, after the farm was sold, she cleaned homes for people in Madison to keep herself busy and bring in some extra income. Most mornings before arriving at the homes to clean, she could be found walking briskly at Westgate Mall, generally racking up 3 miles each time.  At some point in her earlier years, she worked as a teacher’s aide at Springfield Elementary School. 

Rose was a member of St. Martin’s Parish in Martinsville where she sang in the choir for many years. Her favorite pastime was playing cards including euchre, solo, cribbage and 500. Forget board games, but if it involved a deck of cards, she was all in. Her first question would be “What are we playing for?”, quickly explaining that in order to make it more “interesting,” they should play for money, but of course, always kept it to a conservative amount. Her children will always remember her first question when she was introduced to a new son or daughter-in-law: “Well, does he (or she) play cards?” If they did, they were a shoe-in. If they said no, they better learn quickly. She loved watching the Brewers, Packers, and Badgers, and true to form, was always eager to make a wager with someone who might be cheering for the opposite team.  

Rose was a kind and loving person who cared so much about others. She worked very hard to stay in contact with and visit friends and relatives as much as possible. She paid it forward for many years as was evident in how she received it back ten-fold after she was no longer able to drive, and particularly, during her last months.  Her dry sense of humor remained intact until she passed. Her family practice doctor will never forget her answer a couple years ago when he asked her what the secret was to living well into her 90s. Without missing a beat and with a straight face, she replied “Chewing tobacco.” Her doctor actually believed her until he saw her grin, and naturally she got the biggest kick out of “putting one over on him.”  Due to her cooking skills, her children all grew up with a love for great food and an appreciation that one of life’s greatest joys is to cook for people you love.  She was particularly adept at doing food prep and clean up well in advance of eating so that the meal just seemed to magically appear on the table.            

Rose is survived by her children: Diane Henry, Janet Duhr (Chris Davis), & Gary Grosse (Tamie). Grandchildren: Eric Duhr (Laurie Johnson), Nathan Grosse (Julie), Marc Grosse (Erica), Scott Grosse (Holly Spahn), Amanda Grosse, & Maribeth White (Alex).  Great Grandchildren: Linus, Phoebe, and Sybil White & George and Eleanor Grosse. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Clayton, son Roger, sisters Marie Schneider, Bernadette Haack, & Henrietta Grosse, brothers Vincent, Norbert, Louie, Leo & Leonard Buechner, and son-in-law, Bill Henry. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Martin’s Catholic Church, 5959 St. Martin Circle, Cross Plains (Martinsville) at 11:00 am on Tuesday November 7, 2023 with Father Brian Dulli presiding.  Visitation will be held at the church from 9:30 am until the time of service. 

The family of Rose would like to thank the staff at the Waunakee Valley Assisted Living and Agrace Hospice for all their kindness, help and support.  Special thanks to the caregivers: Aleah, DeAndra, Mamie, Jessica and Nurse Amber. 

To those who called her Mom, Toots, Sarge, Rose, or Rosie…she was a gem and will be dearly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations be made to Agrace Hospice or St. Martin’s Parish.