Rosalie Ann Cooley

In Loving Memory of Rosalie Ann Cooley, Newcastle, Wyoming. Rosalie Ann (Gilkison) Cooley was born August 25, 1942, in Gillette, Wyoming, to her parents Clarence Elmer Gilkison and Mamie Mildred (Ross) Gilkison.  She passed away peacefully on November 25, 2021, at the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper Wyoming, at the age of 79. Rosie was the second of five children.  The family moved to Oakridge, Oregon, in 1947 and returned to Wyoming in 1958.  Rosie attended high school in Sundance, Wyoming.  She married Virgil Krank on April 2, 1960.  Together, they had four children.  They later divorced in 1971. Rosie worked as a CNA for many years, caring for the residents with pride, including her own parents.  Her kindness and compassion shined through in her job caring for the elderly. After leaving the workforce as a CNA, she took on a new interest, taxidermy.  She enjoyed this task, and found it rewarding for some time; however, her true passion was writing. She wrote many pieces of literature and poetry, that were published in Backroads Magazine, The Fence Post, and McCall’s magazine.   She started her own newsletter, called Echoes from the Past: A Sagerose Publication, which reached thousands of subscribers from all over the world.  She loved having a chance to express the things she loved such as cooking, western history, poetry, and family traditions.  She made countless new friends through this newsletter and also Facebook. Rosie had many hobbies that she loved and passed some of them on to her kids.  She loved to cook, bake, crochet, garden, and enjoyed canning vegetables and jellies. She also helped others can their harvests. She was great at cake decorating and made many for special events. She also loved studying and researching family genealogy and helping other family members do research.  Over the past couple of years, one of her favorite pastimes was playing games on the computer, especially Words with Friends.  She was quite the champ at this game.  Rosie was a member of the First Baptist Church in Newcastle, and enjoyed attending on a regular basis, until her health began to deteriorate.  She enjoyed doing Bible Study at home. She was preceded in death by her parents Clarence and Mamie Gilkison, ex-husband, Virgil Krank, one brother Clarence Everett Gilkison, one sister, Bessie Lee (Gilkison) Russell, one granddaughter, Emily Covey, two nephews, Jeffrey Allen Gilkison, an infant nephew, Benjamin Joseph Schulze, and an infant son, John Leroy Krank.   She is survived by her children, Darla (Kevin) Ridl, Jim (Vilma) Krank, Wes Krank, Mary (Randy) Dixon, and Mamie Krank (Ron Willadson), sister Clara Gilkison Varner, and brother, Boise Gilkison.  She is also survived by five grandchildren; Bruce Weeg, David Hill, Cody Hill, Michael Dixon, and Ryan Dixon, along with numerous step grand-kids, great-grandkids, nieces and nephews.  Visitation will be held Friday, December 3, 4:00-7:00 p.m. at Meridian Mortuary.  Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 4,  at 11:00 a.m. at Meridian Mortuary. Condolences can be sent to Meridian Mortuary, 111 S. Railroad Ave., Newcastle, WY, 82701. Condolences may also be expressed at www.meridianmortuary.com.