Rosalie Kirkland

Rosalie Kirkland, 96, of Berne passed away at 7:19 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2019 at Swiss Village Retirement Community in Berne. She was born in Hoaglin Township, Van Wert County, Ohio to Herbert and Goldie (Carmean) Thatcher. She was married in 1945 to Floyd W. Kirkland.

Following graduation in 1940 from Wren High School, she was employed by GE in Decatur and later in Van Wert, Ohio as credit manager for Montgomery Ward Co. She and her husband operated a small business in Ohio City, Ohio until he, a WWII Army Air Corp veteran, was recalled to the Air Force for the Korean War. Together, they elected to remain in the service, and she became familiar with many parts of the world. They lived in Japan for six years, and upon his retirement from Air Force, they spent over 10 years in Saudi Arabia where he was employed by Lockheed Aircraft Co. When conditions permitted, she worked for the government as a civil service employee as a legal secretary or executive secretary and was then employed by Lockheed Aircraft as an executive secretary. Her travels involved twice circling the world with visits to the Philippines, China, Korea, Thailand, Lebanon and several countries in Europe and Africa. She was required to manage the household during her husband's absence. Her life frequently involved substandard living conditions and the rearing of the children in difficult circumstances especially when her husband was deployed to remote areas of the world.

During retirement periods in Florida, she worked as a licensed real estate associate and was also active in caring for the elderly and the Meals on Wheels program. In the earlier periods of the military, they were involved in chapel youth activities. She was a member of Volusia County Baptist Church in Orange City, Florida and regularly attended First Missionary Church in Berne following their relocation to Berne in 2007. 

She is survived by her three sons, Gregory Kirkland (Lt. Colonel USAF retired) of Ashburn, Virginia; Jeffery Kirkland (retired police officer) of Deleon Springs, Florida; and Joel Kirkland (sales representative) of High Point, North Carolina; three grandchildren, Kacey Kirkland-James; Jason Kirkland; and Meghan Kirkland-Meadows; two great-grandsons, Kelby James; and Seff Meadows; and one brother, Noel Thatcher of Decatur.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband in 2017; three sisters, Marlyn Callow; Myrna Brittsan; and Ruth Riley; and three brothers, Graydon, Merlen and Eugene Thatcher.

Visitation will be from 3:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28 and half an hour prior to the 10:00 a.m. funeral service on Friday, March 29 in the chapel of Swiss Village Retirement Center, 1350 W. Main St., Berne. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery in Ohio City, Ohio.

Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Arrangements provided by Alspach-Gearhart Funeral Home & Crematory in Van Wert, Ohio. Online condolences may be made at www.alspachgearhart.com.