Doris N. Rowald

Doris Norma Fehl Rowald passed away peacefully on Saturday September 10, 2022, at Northwoods Care Center. She was born October 8, 1927, in Wausau, WI to Norman W. and Gladys B. (Higby) Fehl.

She graduated from Wausau Senior High School in 1944. In 1948 she graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a double major in Home Economics and Education. Later that year she started teaching Kindergarten in Berlin, WI. She moved to Rockford, IL in 1949 and started teaching Kindergarten at Jackson School where she remained until 1960.

She married Willis Lee Rowald on August 18, 1951, in Wausau, WI. They were married for 62 years. In 1967 she began teaching pre-school at First Presbyterian Church in the morning and substituted in the afternoons. After 10 years the pre-school closed, and she substituted in the Rockford Public Schools until 1997.

She was a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church now federated as Second Congregational/First Presbyterian Church. She served the church in many capacities: Sunday School, teacher, Women’s Ministry studies and programs, a volunteer for Vacation Bible programs, a Stephen Minister, Deacon, Ruling Elder, liturgist, 13 years as the Clerk of Session, and she faithfully attended Church Services and Sunday morning classes and Wednesday evening dinners and classes.

She was a 56-year member of the Rock River Valley Council of Girl Scouts now known as the Northern Illinois Council of Girl Scouts. She is a lifetime member and has served in many capacities including as a leader for her daughters, working with her Service Unit as registrar, as chairperson, and a delegate. She served on the Girl Scout Gold Award Committee, as a trainer for new Daisy leader, and her last “job” as a helper on the Council’s Historian Committee. She received all the honors including the Thanks Badge Two. In 2018 she was inducted into the Girl Scout Hall of Fame.

She was a member of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Group, the Natural Land Institute, the Center for Learning in Retirement, a local Red Hat group called The Red Hat Rendezvous, she was a volunteer for 10 years at the Let’s Go See Program at Aldeen Park and helped in the kitchen many years for Vacation Bible School at Westminster Presbyterian Church along with her grandson Zachary.

She was an avid Badgers, Packers, and Cubs fan and was thrilled when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. Even though, all her life, she was an avid cat lover her heart was stolen when her son’s Golden Retriever, Jenny, came to live with her.

The family wishes to express a grateful and loving thank you to her grandson Zachary and her friend Betty Moore for going above and beyond.

She is survived by her three children, Martha (Tim) Pearse of Rockford, Paul Rowald (Cathie Stuart) of Willowbrook, IL, and Joyce (Randy) Hagerman of Poplar Bluff, MO; 7 grandchildren, Alan (Tiffany) Rowald of New Jersey, Amanda (Chris) Gawlik of Nevada, Lindsi Pearse (Anthony Peterson) and Zachary Pearse of Rockford, Andrew Pearse of Virginia, Katie (Jimmy) Heathscott of Loves Park, and Will Hagerman of Arkansas; great-grandchildren, Nicholas and Alex Rowald, Chris and Aly Gawlik, and baby Heathscott who will born in April; brothers-in-law, Robert (Debra) Rowald of Rockton, Helmut (Barbara) Fritz of Colorado, and Harry (Melody) Fritz of Kentucky; sisters-in-law, Arlene Flannery of Colorado, Suzanne Will of California, and Lisa Boddeker of Kentucky; nephews, Richard (Vonda) Flannery, Douglas (Lacie) Flannery, David (Lisa) Flannery, William (Kathy) Rowald, Robert Rowald, Mychal Will, David Rowald, Michael Rowald, and several cousins. She is predeceased by her husband Willis, her parents and in-laws.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, 1886 Daimler Rd. Rockford, IL 61112, for a scholarship to be established in her name at a future date.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. with visitation from 10:00 a.m. until time of service located at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S Mulford Rd. Rockford, IL 61108. Burial will conclude in Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Winnebago, IL.

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