Rose Mertes

Rose Marie Mertes, 89, of Breckenridge , MN , died December 15, 2009 at St. Francis Healthcare Campus, Breckenridge.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, December 18, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Breckenridge , MN . Fr. Kenneth Popp will be the celebrant.

Visitation will be on Thursday, December 17, 2009, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a Christian Mothers Rosary at 5:30 p.m. and a prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. all at Joseph Vertin & Sons Funeral Home, Breckenridge , MN . There will also be visitation one hour prior to the funeral at the funeral home on Friday morning.

Interment will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Breckenridge.

Rose was born December 18, 1919 in St. Leo , MN , the eighth child of 15 born to Charles and Cecelia (Schmitt) Homan. She grew up and attended school there.

Rose was married to William Mertes in 1940 at St. Leo and they made their home west of Mantador , ND . Later they moved into Mantador where Bill worked at the grain elevator. When Bill became employed with the Great Northern Railroad in 1943, they moved into Wahpeton, ND. Three years later they purchased their home on 11 ^th Street in Breckenridge, where they raised their 14 children.

Rose worked at Vada’s Steak House in Breckenridge. Later she did cleaning at Smith Motors and Terrace Lanes in Wahpeton, ND and cooked at St. Mary’s School in Breckenridge before starting her housekeeping position at St. Francis Home , where she worked in the laundry department for 15 years. Rose retired from that position at age 75.

Rose was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and Christian Mothers, National Catholic Society of Foresters and the Eagles Auxiliary No. 2749. She always enjoyed cooking and baking and was in demand for her delicious buttermilk donuts. In her younger years Rose enjoyed playing cards with the “39ers” and taking her family to visit relatives in Mantador and Brown’s Valley, MN. She was extremely proud of her family and will always be remembered for her infectious laugh.

She is survived by her 14 children: Harold (Dorcas) Mertes, Sterling Heights, Michigan; Margaret (Jim) Delzer, Campbell, California; Catherine (Jack) Peterson, East Grand Forks, MN; William Charles (Diane) Mertes, Wahpeton, ND; Paulette (Roger) Swinsburg, Minneapolis, MN; Anthony (Jan) Mertes, Chanhassen, MN; Cecilia Fritz, Grand Forks, ND; Marion (Doug) Abfalter, Foley, MN; Dorothy (Ryan) Leinen, Breckenridge, MN; Marvin Mertes, Coon Rapids, MN; Jerome “Joe” (Sue) Mertes, Sioux Falls, SD; Rosemary (Rick) Fannin, Mt. Vernon, OH; Barbara Hogan (Duane Skyberg), Hanover, MN; Michael (Jackie) Mertes, Breckenridge, MN; Her 39 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren; Her siblings: Sylvester Homan, Katherine Spindler, Kathleen Spindler, Eugene Homan and Jacob Homan; Her sister-in-law: Della (Bill) Althoff, Hankinson, ND; Her brother-in-law: Theodore (Esther) Mertes, Mantador, ND.

She was preceded in death by her husband: William C. Mertes; Her parents: Charles and Cecelia Homan; Her siblings: Alvina, Leona, Bernice, Christine, Eleanor, Leo, Elizabeth, Veronica, Anton