On Monday, February 15, 2021, Rosalie Spelts Hood passed away at the age of 100.  But while her body is gone, the legacy she left behind will live on—forever inscribed on the hearts and souls of everyone who ever met her. A graveside funeral will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, March 5th, 2021, at Riverside Cemetery, Sterling Colorado, where she will be laid to rest with her Sterling family.

Rosalie was born on March 19,1920 to Lewis and Lucille (Fitch) Spelts of Sterling, Colorado.  She was an outstanding student with an unquenchable curiosity and a keen intellect—two attributes that would follow her the rest of her life. In 1942, Rosalie joined the 4% of American females to graduate college when she left Colorado State University with a teaching degree from Colorado State College of Education.  That same year, she met and married Benjamin Eugene Hood, a Naval Aviator from neighboring Greeley, Colorado.

Being the wife of a Naval Officer during WW II was no easy task.  It was a hard and transitory life, but Rosalie did it in style, not only putting up with her husband, but also raising three wonderful sons: Michael, Bill and James. After the Navy, the family moved to the Sacramento area, where Rosalie continued her career in education.  She began teaching elementary students, but in 1971 became the guidance counselor at Mitchell Junior High School in Rancho Cordova. Never one to rest on her laurels, Rosalie earned her Master's Degree in Education from Sacramento State College in 1972.  She would spend the next 30 years at Mitchell Junior High School—touching lives and nurturing the futures of thousands of young adults. In 1987 Rosalie retired to Cameron Park, California where she spent her time traveling the world with her best friend Barbara, playing bridge at the club, meeting with her PEO Sisters and spending summers with her grandchildren Josh and Sam, and enjoying lunch and the Music Circus with 'the girls.'

Rosalie had a rare spark, a zest for life and an innate ability to light up a room with nothing more than a smile.  She was a wonderful mother and grandmother—a teacher whose shining example guided us to live life to the fullest.

There are no words to thank you for all the lives you touched.

No way to tell you how grateful we are for all the love you gave us.

For always believing in us when we didn't believe in ourselves.

For the phone calls and letters that got Josh and Sam through their time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We will miss your spunky spirit and treasure the stories shared and the memories made.  Always grateful for the lessons you taught us and the example you set:  to laugh loud, work hard and love large.

Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband Gene, her mother, father and beloved grandmother, Rose Fitch of Sterling.

She is survived by her sons, Michael, Bill and James, daughter in law Susan Johnson, grandsons Joshua Hood and his wife Amy, and Samuel Hood and his wife Mandy, and Pierre Retrayt; great-grandsons Stephen and Jake, and great-granddaughters Marlowe and Meritt Rosalie Hood.