The Mass of Christian Burial will be live streamed from Corpus Christi on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The YOUTUBE link is: https://youtube/aJop6W@c_nWo.

 

Rosie Lee Baucum, passed away on Saturday, November 21, 2020 at St. Paul’s Senior Community Center, Belleville IL. Mrs. Baucum was born Rosa Leah (Lee) Griggs in Madison, IL on December 22, 1925. She was the fourth and last child of Mr. Charlie Mach and Lula Phillips Griggs. 

Mrs. Baucum’s mother died in 1930 and Rosie Lee and her other siblings were raised in their early childhood by other members of the extended Griggs family. In her early years, Rosie Lee received religious instruction at Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church of Madison, Illinois and education in the Dunbar Public School system of Madison, IL.

In 1945, Rosie Lee volunteered to join the United States Negro Cadet Nursing Corps for the war effort in Kansas City, MO. Rosie Lee graduated from the nursing program in 1948. Rosie Lee later passed her registered nursing boards on October of 1948. On August 2, 1948 Rosie Lee married her hometown sweetheart, an active duty Army soldier Earle W. Baucum in the chapel at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  While Earle Sr. was still on active duty state side, Rosie Lee returned to Madison, IL to give birth to their first child, Earle W. Baucum Jr., in 1949.  When Earle Sr. went from active duty to ready reserve status, the family moved from Madison, IL to Danville, IL in 1952.  In Danville IL, Rosie Lee worked as a nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital in the pediatric ward from 1952 to 1963. Rosie Lee gave birth to their second child, Patricia Rose Baucum, in 1953. In 1953, the family joined the St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church and parish of Danville, IL. In 1958, the family moved to the St. Paul Roman Catholic Church and parish of Danville, IL where they put their children through the Catholic grade school and high school system. In 1963, Rosie Lee changed job sites and started with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Danville, IL.  By 1989, both Rosie Lee and Earle Sr. had retired from the Danville VA Medical Center.  So after 38 years of residence in Danville IL, Rose and Earle Sr. moved to Springfield, IL in 1990. They joined the St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church Parish of Springfield, IL.  After staying five years in Springfield, IL, Earle, and Rose made one last final move to be near their childhood home and moved to the Belleville/Shiloh area in 1996.  At that time, Rosie Lee and Earle Sr. joined the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church Parish of Shiloh, IL. Their daughter, Patricia, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1979, and the disease had progressed to a point to which it was also decided to move her to Belleville. By 2001, Earle Sr., Rosie and Patricia were in residence together. Rosie Lee and Earle Sr. together devoted all their activities to Patricia during her transformation from their residence to a nursing home in 2014. In July of 2016, Earle Sr. passed away. From that time, Rosie Lee remained diligent in making life as good as possible under the circumstances for Patricia in the nursing home till her daughter’s death in 2018. Until her own death, Rosie Lee remained in close contact with her relatives and friends and a faithful Corpus Christi parishioner. Rosie’s last days of 2020 were at the St. Paul Senior Community of Belleville IL.

Mrs. Baucum is survived by her son, Mr. Earle Baucum, Jr. of Belleville IL; a sister, Mrs. Vernice Griggs Johnson of Madison, IL; and a sister-in-law, Mrs. Hazel Griggs of Prosper, TX.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation in Rosie Lee’s name to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (ours is the local Gateway Area Chapter) or any donation to a charitable organization of the giver’s choice in Mrs. Baucum’s name would do her a great honor.

Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Kassly Mortuary, Ltd., Fairview Heights, IL on Friday, December 4, 2020. Please, no potted plants. Appropriate funeral flower arrangements would be appreciated.

Visitation will also be held on Saturday, December 5, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Shiloh, IL.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be help at 10:00 am on Saturday, December 5, 2020 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Shiloh, IL  with Msgr. James Margason officiating.

Interment will be held in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, MO, on Monday, December 7, 2020.