Rose Mary Chan

Rose Mary Chan died peacefully at age 101 on December 7, 2023 in Albany, Minnesota. The mother of 10 with a great devotion to the rosary, Rose Mary was a woman of dedication and faith. She told us she is looking forward to celebrating Christmas in Heaven. Holy Mary, rejoice, your daughter is home!

She was born on March 1, 1922 in Royalton, Minnesota to John and Veronica (Kampa) Kroll. The Kroll family came to Minnesota farmland from Poland in The Great Emigration (1831-1870). Rose Mary was the youngest of 8 and was raised with a strong work ethic. Rose Mary’s resilient memory and dry humor allowed her to share detailed stories with us her entire life. She had especially fond memories of laughing with her sister Josephine.

As a young adult, Rose Mary loved traveling. She found jobs in Chicago and California. She returned to Lake Reno, Minnesota as a housekeeper for her brother, Reverend John Alfred Kroll. She met her future husband, Clarence Woodrow Chan, who was mowing the cemetery grass. At a polka dance, she picked out Clarence as her future husband, and later learned that he had also pointed her out to his brother Fred, saying she would be the woman he would marry. They married when she was 28 on August 22, 1950, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Royalton, Minnesota.

Rose Mary raised her family in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The family also had prominent memories in Sheridan, Wyoming and Worthington, Minnesota. Rose Mary instilled in her family values of loyalty, honesty, and responsibility. She is survived by over 20 great-grandchildren, 18 grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and all of her children and their spouses: Mary Eich (Dave), Roger (Claire), Ron (Cheryl), Jim (Joyce), Sue Ann Steinhoff (LeRoy), Judy Radintz (Richard), Dennis (Alison), Joe (Joyce), Cindy Stender (Bob), and Connie Hederman.

She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, and siblings.

A special thank you to the staffs of Mother of Mercy Senior Living and Moments Hospice for their loving care, including her special caregivers Becky and Crystal.

Gathering will begin at 11am on December 13, 2023, with a Funeral Mass at 12pm at St. John Nepomuk Church at 25890 110th St, Lowry, MN 56349. Burial will be in the adjacent cemetery.