Rosalea Edmonds Mills-Heuvel, 88, of Tampa, Fla., passed away on January 15, 2023, at Inspired Living, Tampa. Rosalea was born on July 16, 1934, in Leavenworth, Kan. She was the daughter of Matthew J. and Lillian Pearl (Stuckey) Edmonds.
She graduated from Lansing High School in 1952. She continued on for an additional year of higher education at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.
On August 9, 1953, Rosalea married Lambert Duane Mills. Together in Leavenworth County they raised five children: Cynthia (Mick) Blake of Lake Linden, Mich., Toni Milleret of Pinehurst, N.C., Julia (Pete) Schrock of Summit, N.J., Alan Mills of Tampa, and Tricia (Vito, Jr.) Brancatella of Mendham, N.J. Rosalea loved her family and enjoyed watching her 13 grandchildren develop their unique personalities: Erik Herzog, Alan Kroll, Whitney Crabtree, Cindy Leigh Crabtree, Abigail Milleret, Kyle Milleret (Gosia), Jessica Schrock, Allison Mills, Victoria Mills, Vito Brancatella III (Deirdre), Nicholas Brancatella, Jenna Brancatella, and Ava Brancatella. Rosalea was also blessed to have four great-grandchildren: Rush Herzog, Cruz Herzog, Dawson Virtenen, and Oliwia Milleret.
As a bride of the 1950s, Rosalea loved her Leavenworth County home and invested in many community organizations. She was a 4-H Club member growing up and continued the 4-H legacy as a project leader for her children. She was a member of the Lansing United Methodist Church. As a young woman, Rosalea was a Lansing High School cheerleader and homecoming queen. She loved LHS and all related sports teams. Rosalea would attend a track meet, volleyball game, basketball game, and golf meet whether it was a home event or away. During the 1970s, Rosalea was part of the board for the Leavenworth County Junior Miss. Her PEO Chapter EN enjoyed her leadership as a past president.
As a member of the Leavenworth Country Club, Rosalea was an active and competitive player in the Women's Golf Association and inspired all of the members' children in LCC Jr. Golf. Rosalea divorced in 1984. She was blessed to meet Francis Heuvel and they were married in 1999. Together, Rosie and Francis played golf (constantly!), traveled by cruise and air to visit the grandkids and enjoyed a full retired life. After the loss of her husband, Francis, Rosie moved to Tampa in 2016to spend her final years enjoying family celebrations, walks on the beach, dancing, museums, boat rides and baseball games.
Funeral Services will be held at Davis Funeral Chapel, 531 Shawnee St, Leavenworth, KS 66048 on Saturday, January 28, 2023 Visitation is from 9 - 11 a.m., followed by a Celebration of Life at 11 a.m. Rosalea's final resting place will be Mt. Muncie Cemetery, Leavenworth.
