1924
Rose
2016
Rose Marie Thomas
September 8, 1924 — July 18, 2016
home on July 18th, 2016, surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by 3 children:
Gregory Thomas (Kristin Ahlness) of Ithaca NY, Stephanie Guss (Jonathan) of Franklin Lakes
NJ, and Johanna Theobald (Rick) of Mt Juliet TN; 6 grandchildren: Brendan Thomas, Eva
Schlinger, Dylan, Samantha and Gillian Guss, and Justin Theobald; one great grandchild: Laylah
Rose Marie Theobald; and brother-in- law Bill Hochreiter of Rochester, NY. Older sister Ilse
Weismantel passed away in 1994, and younger sister Irene Hochreiter passed away in
2014.
Born on September 8, 1924 in Rochester, NY to Otto J. Peschan and Emma Walter Peschan.
Rose Marie graduated West High and then worked at Eastman Kodak, becoming the editor of
"Kodakery", the company's weekly newspaper for its 8,000 employees, during the World War II
years. Returning to school full-time after the War, she attended Ohio University, becoming only
the second woman to edit the OU Post. Graduating with high honors, Rose Marie was elected to
Phi Beta Kappa, the journalism honorary society Kappa Tau Alpha, Mortar Board, Sigma Delta
Chi, and Women in Communication.
After graduation she worked for the Columbus Dispatch as a reporter/feature
writer/photographer. Her celebrity interviews ranged from Liberace to Eleanor Roosevelt.
Coming home from dinner with her future husband one evening, Rose Marie and her date
followed the sound of sirens to the Ohio State Penitentiary "Halloween Riot" of 1952. She was
one of the first reporters to cover the story and the only female on the scene, which made the
warden so nervous that he justifiably put her behind bars for her own protection.
In 1955, Rose Marie moved to Marietta with her husband attorney Richard J. Thomas. She
became the first Public Relations director for Marietta Memorial Hospital, editing the monthly
Memorial Memo and starting the first pre-natal class.
Taking time off to raise her three children, Rose Marie remained active in the community. She
was a member of St Mary's Catholic church and a member of its Education Committee which
started the Montessori program at St Mary's School. Rose Marie also served on the Marietta
Board of Health, the Ohio University Board of Trustees, and the Advisory Board of OU's
television station. She was a long time member of the National Society of Arts and Letters,
American Association of University Women, and Zonta International.
Active in politics, from the 1950s through the present, she was a longstanding member of the
Washington County Democratic Women and served on the County Democratic Executive and
Central Committees. She was fondly referred to as the "matriarch" of Washington County
Democrats. For decades Rose Marie was also an active worker at the local polls.
Returning to the workplace in 1978, she served for 16 years as administrator of senior volunteer
programs (Senior Companions, Foster Grandparents, and VISTA) covering 27 Appalachian
counties in Ohio under the sponsorship of the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development.
She also organized and had a faithful following for her weeklong fund raising adventures,
expanding the horizons of many local seniors. In 1993 she was selected as Ohio's outstanding
administrator of volunteer programs. Upon retirement in 1994 the Ohio House of
Representatives and Senate voted resolutions honoring her service.
Working in proximity with seniors amplified her interest in helping address issues associated
with aging. Her volunteer activities included memberships on the County Council on Aging and
the Regional Advisory Council to the Area Agency on Aging. She was named a delegate to the
1995 White House Conference on Aging, and to the White House Mini-Conference on Issues
Affecting Older Women in 1980. She was a charter member of the Older Women's League, a
national advocacy group for women. She was on the Board of the O'Neill Senior Center and a
member of the O'Neill Singers. In 1998 she traveled to China with the American Society of
Aging during the International Year of Aging, meeting and exchanging ideas on senior care and
lifestyle with leading Chinese officials.
Rose Marie enjoyed travel, music and opera. In her travels she attended operas at St.
Petersburg's Kirov Theater, the West Berlin Oper Haus, the Metropolitan Opera in New York
City, the Cincinnati Opera, and even a Chinese opera in Beijing. She made numerous trips solo
to visit relatives and friends overseas in East and West Germany, Italy, and Czechoslovakia. In
2007, at 83, she and her daughters and daughter-in- law took a tour of the Austrian Alps, the land
where her parents were born and her father had served in the Austrian Army in World War I.
Her favorite trips were always to visit her children and grandchildren in New York State, New
Jersey, and Tennessee. She wrote and published her autobiography, "Trip of a Lifetime" for her
friends and family.
Rose Marie wished to express her deep thanks to Pam Sewell, Cayla and Lisa Collins, Maribeth
Browne, Christine Lisk, Greg Cline, Dave and Jean Cech, and the many friends and hospice
caregivers who made her home hospice possible.
Visitation will be held Wednesday July 20 th from 2 to 4 PM and 6 to 8 PM, with a vigil service
held at 3 PM at Cawley & Peoples, 408 Front Street, Marietta.
There will be a funeral mass in Marietta at the Basilica of St Mary of the Assumption Thursday
July 21 st at 10 AM, followed by a reception. Burial will take place at Holy Ghost Church
Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y.
Memorial Contributions may be made in her name to the O'Neill Senior Center Foundation or
the St. Mary School Foundation, or the St. Monica School Foundation in Rochester, N.Y.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Rose Marie Thomas, please visit our flower store.
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