Rosemary "Rosie" Rolfes

Rosemary “Rosie” Rolfes, age 90 of St. Cloud, formerly of Freeport, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on Saturday, December 21, 2024 at Talamore Senior Living in St. Cloud. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 27 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Freeport with Rev. Daniel Walz officiating and Rev. Bob Rolfes concelebrating. Interment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday at the church.

Rosemary Kerfeld was born December 8, 1934 in Millwood Township, Stearns County, Minnesota to Joseph and Bertha (Klassen) Kerfeld. She was united in marriage to Anthony “Tony” Rolfes on May 3, 1954 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in St. Rosa, Minnesota. The couple lived in St. Cloud until they bought a farm near Freeport in 1966. During that time, Rosie worked at Fingerhut in Sauk Centre and at Kraft in Melrose. In 1990, Rosie and Tony retired and moved permanently to their vacation home on Horseshoe Lake in Mission Township. During retirement, Rosie did volunteer work and babysat her grandchildren. In 2011, Rosie moved to St. Cloud and lived at St. Benedict’s Center and most recently at Talamore Senior Living.

She was a former member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Freeport and Immaculate Heart Catholic Church in Crosslake where she belonged to the Christian Mothers in both churches. Rosie enjoyed word finds, gardening, and vacationing with her husband and sisters.

Survivors include her children, Dan (Pam) Rolfes of St. Joseph, David “Butch” (Deb) Rolfes of Albany, Cindy (Marc) Sheldon of Rush City, Mary (Gary “Scoob”) Sunderman of St. Joseph; Kevin (Ann) Rolfes of Twin Falls, Idaho, and John (Meg) Rolfes of Bennett, Colorado; 12 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Kathryn (Harry) Elfering of Melrose, Jim (Kathy) Kerfeld of Sauk Centre, Sylvester “Dick” (Kerry) Kerfeld of Merrifield, Bernie Ostendorf of St. Cloud, and Ann (Mike) Hiltner of St. Cloud; and sisters-in-law, Mary Ann Kerfeld of Sartell and Dorothy “Dottie” Kerfeld of Waite Park.

Rosie was preceded in death by her husband, Tony Rolfes on May 24, 2002; parents; and granddaughter, Cassandra “Cassie” Rolfes; and brothers, Will Kerfeld and Tony Kerfeld.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the charity of your choice.