Rosalie Seikel

Rosalie Seikel

1938 – 2019

Rosalie “Rosie” Seikel, 81, of Edmond, Oklahoma died October 14, 2019 surrounded by family in her home. Rosie died suddenly as the result of a stroke.

Rosie was born January 9, 1938 to Mary Elizabeth Elmenhorst Koos Determan and Leo Henry Determan, Sr. in El Reno, Oklahoma. Rosie was born in the home of her blended family which included eleven older siblings. She was baptized at Sacred Heart Catholic church in El Reno where she also attended school, beginning her lifelong devotion to her church and her faith.

Rosie met Theo Michael (Mike) Seikel, Jr. in high school while working at the El Reno movie theater. They married December 28, 1958 and loved each other for life. On April 11, 1960, Rosie delivered the first of their five children. Her early married life included a few cross-country moves as Mike completed his military service then joined the FBI. So began her extensive collection of friends all over the United States. In addition to their children, Rosie and Mike also welcomed more than two dozen kids and adults into their lives and their homes, assisting and befriending them through faith and generosity. Rosie corresponded with many of these special people for the rest of her life.

With all five kids in school, Rosie returned to school herself, eventually attaining her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Psychology and earning a teaching certificate. A final move brought her family back to Oklahoma in 1976 where they settled in Edmond. Back near her extensive family, Rosie helped care for her aging mother and her in-laws, while enjoying her siblings and their families. Her working mom career included positions as a social worker, a middle school teacher and a middle school counselor. She was an active, supportive, involved member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, and continued volunteer work into the last days of her life. Grandchildren and Mike’s retirement brought even more excitement and travel to Rosie’s life. Her later years were dominated by her loving care for Mike as he struggled with Alzheimer’s disease, where she succeeded in caring for him at home until his death in December 2018.

Rosie is survived by her five children: Kathleen and her husband Jeff Goetz of Tacoma, WA and their daughter Hannah; Suzanne and her husband Kevin Pitts of Wenatchee, WA and their children Riley, Madison, Samantha and Ballad and granddaughter Leslynn; Karin Michelle and her husband Jodie McDaniel of Edmond, OK, their children Malissa, Tara, Sara, Liza and Emma and grandchildren Connor, Margaret and Patrick; Michael Andrew and his wife Maureen Seikel of Lake Bluff, IL and their children Zachary, Colin and Michaela; Paul Joseph and his wife Giulia Seikel of Tulsa, OK and their children Daniella, Thomas and Elijah. Rosie is also survived by her siblings: Agnes Mary Reeder of Medford, Oregon; Leo Henry Determan of Alameda, CA; Josephine Margaret Jones of O’Fallon, MO; Martha Mary Herr of O’Fallon, MO; and Geraldine Louise Keeter of Tulsa, OK.

Rosie was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brothers Richard Bernard Koos, Delmer George Koos, John W (Jack) Koos, Leonard Frank Koos, Hubert Arnett Koos, her sister Vivian Maxine Koos Gleese, and her grandson Noah Joseph Seikel.

Services will include a wake at 7:00 p.m. on November 22, 2019 and a Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. on November 23, 2019. Both services will take place at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 900 South Littler Avenue, Edmond, OK. Burial will follow the funeral at Gracelawn Cemetery, 1407 N Boulevard, Edmond, OK. A funeral dinner will be served by church volunteers in the great hall after the interment.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Center of Family Love in Okarche, OK or to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church: Peru Mission.