Rose Mae (Jones) Willis Rush of Leonardtown, Maryland passed away peacefully at the age of 92 on August 18, 2023 at Saint Mary’s Nursing Home. She was born on March 7, 1931 in Prince Frederick, Maryland to Edith Elizabeth (Fowler) Jones and Edward Leo Jones. She was preceded in death by husband, Herbert Rush, deceased, August 12, 2008.
Rose is survived by son Michael Wayne Willis, his wife Patricia (Russell), grandson Kevin Willis. Daughter Sheila Ann MacDonald, granddaughter Shelby Roseanne MacDonald, grandson Thomas MacDonald. Son Gary Dale Willis, his wife Penny (Ogle), granddaughters Megan, husband Bobby Morey, great-grandson Cameron Wayne, Melisa Jane, Valerie (Willis) Mayer, husband Brian Mayer, great-granddaughters, Madison Mayer, her husband Christopher Hogue, Presley and Karis, granddaughter Nicki (Willis) Wasson, husband Christopher Wasson, great-granddaughters, Avery and Ally, and grandson, Gary Dale Willis, his wife Nicole Willis (Carpenter) great-granddaughters Kiley and Sadie.
Rose is preceded in death by her sisters and brothers; Mary Louise Jones, Emma Lucille (Jones) Murphy, Hattie Marie (Jones) Schmidlen, James Edward Jones, Lucy Viola (Jones) Willis, William Claude Jones, and Ernest Howard Jones. She is survived by Brother Jerry Alexander Jones wife Ruth Ann (Webster) and sister Shelby Jean (Jones) Gibbons husband Charles Gibbons.
Rose was farm raised in St Leonard, Maryland. She enjoyed working on the farm, but could not wait to see the world. Her passion was singing and was an infamous Yodler. She loved to entertain her family with her beautiful voice. She loved many of the older country artists. Rose finished her school studying at Stayer studying secretarial business. She had many secretarial positions during her career. She retired from Westinghouse, in Annapolis, Maryland after 24 years of service. Rose moved from Annapolis to Leonardtown after her retirement. She loved being outside. Her favorite love was her family. All of her nephews and nieces have so many fond memories of family gatherings and Rose providing many of the long lasting memories. She was very much loved.
Family will receive friends on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. with a Funeral Service following at 11:30 a.m. at Rausch Funeral Home, P.A., 20 American Lane, Lusby, MD. Pastor Stan Beall, Emmanuel Church, Huntingtown, MD will be officiating the service. Interment will be private.
Serving as pallbearers will be Mark Willis, Michael Jones, Billy Jones, Jimmy Jones, Tommy Jones and Rodney Jones.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, National Capital Area Chapter, 8180 Greensboro Drive, Suite 400, McLean, VA 22102 (https://act.alz.org), the Linda L. Kelly Animal Shelter, 5055 Hallowing Point Road, Prince Frederick, MD 20678 or the Maryland SPCA, 3300 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21211.
