Rose Marie (Painschab) Skonberg

Rose Skonberg, age 96, of Glenwood, died on Friday, July 18, 2025, at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. A memorial service celebrating Rose's life will be held on Saturday, August 9th at 11:00 a.m. at Glenwood Lutheran Church with Rev. Krista Lee officiating. The service will be livestreamed on glenwoodlutheran.com. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in the Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery in Glenwood. In lieu of flowers Rose's wishes were people to donate to their charity of choice. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood. 

Rose Marie Painschab was born on July 21, 1928, to John and Elizabeth (Hinteregger) Painschab in Minneapolis, MN. Rose was the cherished 12th of 13 children born to the couple. Rose's early years in the Waverly, Howard Lake and Buffalo, MN areas, were filled with the warmth of a large family. She grew up surrounded by her loving parents and siblings, learning the values of hard work, dedication, and the importance of caring for others.

After high school, Rose was accepted into the Northwestern Hospital of Nursing to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a nurse. She changed her mind and went job hunting instead, rather than have her parents support her for another 4 years at their age and financial limitations. Rose’s jobs varied as much as her address over the next several years as she switched from key-punching, to window decorating, to waitressing, back to window-decorating and then key-punching again. Rose moved from Buffalo to Minneapolis, to Buffalo, to Hutchinson, to Minneapolis, to Denver (3 years), and back to Minneapolis. Rose had a key-punching job at Investors Diversified Services, Inc. (IDS) At the time the largest investment company in the U.S.

Rose had this job when Loren Skonberg came from Iowa to visit his wartime buddy, her brother Joe. Loren was between jobs, so moved to Minneapolis then Rose and Loren began dating. They were married a year later, October 18, 1953, at the Lutheran church in Buffalo where Rose had been confirmed. They lived in an efficiency apartment in Minneapolis for over a year. Then Loren accepted a job with the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories in New Mexico. The couple moved there 2 weeks before Sandy was due. Sandy was born in January 1955 and in September 1956 the twins, David and Douglas, were born (early). Loren held down 2 jobs, Rose was a stay-at-home-mom for 6 years while they saved enough money to make a down payment on Loren’s lifetime dream, a jewelry store of his own. In 1961, when they heard of a jewelry store for sale in Glenwood, they came, looked it over, purchased it and moved to Glenwood permanently, on a 2-weeks notice.

The store proved to be unprofitable, and they sold it after 8 years of effort to keep it going. Loren worked part-time at the City Municipal Liquor Store and continued there for 20 years, full-time.

In 1969, their children were young teenagers when Rose went job hunting and was hired by the Glenwood Retirement Home as a Nursing Assistant and was trained on the job. She went above and beyond by traveling to the state capital with her boss Gordon Amble to advocate for additional state funding of nursing homes. During the issue of the use of restraints in nursing homes in 1990, the general manager of the Posey Company (a medical supply co.), Roy Maddux published in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune, his belief that restraint use resulting in deaths and injuries was due to the “idiots, incompetents, and dummies” of nursing assistants. Rose and her co-workers wrote a letter to Mr. Maddux on how offended they were to have their certified nursing skills publicly degraded after hours of classes, in-service hours to keep up-to-date on new medical procedures, many hours of on-duty training and having passed state exams. They demanded a retraction of the article and a public apology. Then they went on to suggest that the company design a safe, comfortable restraint system with a beeper or closed-circuit monitoring system. Her nurturing spirit provided comfort and care to residents for 24 years before her well-deserved retirement. Rose felt it was very rewarding, and she finally achieved her girlhood ambition to be a nurse.

After retirement Loren and Rose had more time to pursue their other interests. They now had more time to feed the antique “bug” and attended hundreds of garage sales, flea-markets and auctions. They later rented some booths at an antique mall to sell their treasures. Rose also had a passion for gardening and had flowers and blooming bushes all around the house. She also had an interest in art. She was always doodling people’s faces. She took various classes, workshops and joined the new art group, Rural Artists Incubator, founded by area artist Joe Merrill. Her art was an expression of her innermost thoughts and a testament to her ability to see the wonder in the everyday. 

Family was always most important to Rose. She watched with pride her children, and grandchildren develop into responsible adults. All 7 of her great grandchildren brought her much joy and she is confident their memories of her will stay in their hearts. Rose loved animals and always had a pet cat or 2 around.

Rose's memory will be cherished by her daughter, Sandra O'Brien of Glenwood; her son, Douglas  (Linda) Skonberg of Spring, TX; her three grandchildren, Jean (David) Boll, Jaime (Winchester) Deavours, and Lawrence (Heather) Skonberg; and her seven great-grandchildren, Andrea, Zachary, Madeline, Emery, Miles, Leonardo, and Sidne. Each of them carries a piece of Rose's spirit and will continue to honor her legacy through their own lives.

Preceded in death by her beloved husband, Loren; her son, David; her parents, John and Elizabeth; and all of her 12 siblings, Joseph (stillborn), Leonard, Arnold, Louise (Warner Hohag), John, Elizabeth (Erwin Klawitter), Herman, Antonia (Clarence Doering), Joseph, Anna (Stanley Hohag), Charlotte (Chester Lindstrom), and George. Also, her son-in-law, Michael O’Brien. Rose's departure marks the end of a generation for the Painschab family. Yet, her influence remains, as does the love she shared with her many nieces, nephews, other relatives, co-workers, and friends.

Rose Marie Skonberg lived a life marked by kindness, generosity, and the pursuit of beauty in all its forms. After 96 years, her journey on this earth may have come to a close, but the memories she created, the lives she touched, and the love she gave will continue to flourish. As we say farewell to Rose, we celebrate a life well-lived, a heart given freely, and a soul that truly made the world a better place.

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