Rosita "Rose" Gilley

Rosita A. “Rose” Gilley, age 77, of Melrose and formerly of Long Prairie, passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer on Sunday, April 13 at Cura Care Center in Melrose, Minnesota.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 22 at River of Life Church in Sauk Centre with Pastor Corey Erickson officiating. Inurnment will be at a later date at Riverview Memorial Gardens in Lancaster, Minnesota.

Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the church in Sauk Centre.

Rosita Ann Morrow was born December 28, 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Clifford and Hazel (Witt) Morrow. On September 18, 1967 she married John Anderson and later divorced. Rose then married Daniel Gilley in Grand Island, Nebraska in 2001. She worked at Chubb Insurance as a secretary and was proud to be the president of the Employee Association. After many years working in the insurance business, Rose worked at Dan’s Prize in Long Prairie and retired in 2007. She was a former member of Assembly of God in Eagle Bend. Before Eagle Bend, she was baptized as an adult and gave her life to Christ. Recently she started attending River of Life Church in Sauk Centre.

Rose enjoyed reading books by author Mary Higgins Clark, going to garage sales, playing songs on her keyboard, and most of all, spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Survivors include her children, Darnell (Anthony) Young of Melrose, John (Darla) Anderson Jr. of Brainerd, Monica Anderson (Reed Stenmark) of Lancaster, and Jason (Tabatha) Anderson of Brainerd; 22 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren; sisters and brothers, Jean Cobb (Richard Werner) of Clarissa, James (Ruth Ann) Morrow of Ramsey, Scott Morrow of Becker, and Elaine Snodgrass of Highmore, South Dakota.

Rose was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Gilley in November of 2021; infant son, Douglas Anderson on July 1, 1970; daughter, Brenda Anderson on December 29, 1991; infant grandson, Andrew Patrick Anderson Kasprowicz on December 29, 1990; and brothers, Daniel Groen and Raymond Steinke.