Rose Caplis

Rose O. (Cosner) Caplis, 81, of Sun City, AZ passed quietly, peacefully and completely
unexpectedly in the early morning hours of August 28, 2018, while cruising at 40,000
feet above the eastern seaboard of Nova Scotia, Canada. Mom loved having
adventures and the stories that went with them and, well her last was a doozy.
Mom bagan her adventure in Missoula, MT on March 18, 1937, born to Ruell Furlong
Cosner and Florence (Gallagher) Cosner. She was the only child of Ruell and Florence,
but joined her much older half-siblings Ida, Oliver (Ollie), and Sister Rose Olive (nee
Virginia). Mom’s childhood adventures were spent primarily on Third Street in Missoula,
and in Lolo, MT palling around with her cousins, nieces and nephews - especially Frank,
Patty and Gloria Gallagher.
Mom attended St. Joseph elementary school and high school at Sacred Heart Academy
and was a proud alumni of the class of 1955.
In 1956 mom married college student George (Mike) Caplis. They made their early
married life in Missoula where they soon welcomed their first two children - Carolyn
(Kerry) in 1957 and Timothy (Tim) in 1958. Soon after Mike’s graduation from the
University of Montana the family moved to Polson, MT, where mom forever fell in love
with “The Lake.” While in Polson, Rose and Mike welcomed their third child Edmund
(Ed). Soon after Ed’s arrival the family pulled up stakes and headed to Salt Lake City,
UT where Mike pursued his graduate studies. Post graduation the family moved “home”
to Montana where they followed Mike’s social work career to Missoula, Polson and in
1968 they landed in Butte, MT. Butte is where mom felt for the first time like she was
truly home. Mom always spoke with fondness of the wonderful community, genuine
people and heart that is Butte, America. In 1972, Rose and Mike welcomed their
youngest child, Lori. 1974 found the family on the move once again and settling in
Helena, which mom called her “permanent home” until her “retirement” in 2003. Rose
and Mike divorced in 1982.
In the intervening forty-two years that mom called Helena home she had a proud
twenty-six year career with UPS, owned and operated a catering company with her
business partner, Sarah Rotsinger, and spent twenty seasons surrounding herself with
and cultivating beauty as part of the Valley Farms crew.
Mom was a gypsy at heart - she loved nature and yearned to travel and see what was
around the bend. 2003 found mom with her trusty Cummings diseal “Bessy” and
fifth-wheel in tow hitting the road to explore the desert Southwest. During her
southwestern adventures she found herself perpetually drawn to the austere beauty of
the Sonoran Desert and in 2006 she put down “roots” in a little speck of a town called
Salome. True to form mom created a beautiful desert oasis out of a barren lot and built
a close-knit community of “desert friends.” In the fall of 2011, mom was once again
anxious for her next adventure. She found it in Sun City, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix,
where she purchased a gem of a condo and set to work transforming its rundown
backyard into a verdant sanctuary. Mom’s knowledge of gardening and beautiful
design caught the eye of her Home Owners Association and they offered her a seat on
the board to be in charge of and organize the association’s landscaping. This is a
position she proudly held until her passing.
Mom thrived on creating beautiful, inviting environments both inside and out. Her
homes, both fixed and on wheels were always warm and welcoming. Her yards and
gardens were always a gorgeous hide-away. She was headstrong, independent,
resilient, curious, incredibly hardworking and wherever mom went she made fast
friendships that lasted a lifetime. She loved to laugh and had a pencient for the absurd -
if you ever received a pair of her “funky” Christmas socks you know what I’m talking
about. Playing Hearts with mom was always an exercise in futility - she had a knack for
counting cards, insuring she’d shoot the moon.
Like for all of us, life wasn’t always easy, but mom was tenacious and wasn’t about to
let anything get her down. She celebrated the ups and muddled through the downs on
her terms, she loved her family and friends and died exactly how she wanted - Happy
for having had a grand adventure.
Rose was preceded in death by her father Ruell Cosner; her mother Florence Cosner;
sister Ida Reeves; brother Ollie Cosner; and sister Sister Virginia Cosner.
Rose is survived by her four children Kerry (Steve) Schultz of Missoula,MT; Tim Caplis
of Sun City, AZ; Ed Caplis (Cristina Medina) of Helena, MT; and Lori Caplis of Helena,
MT. Rose is also survived by her five grandchildren, Alexander “Alex” Schultz of
Seattle, WA; Evan Schultz of Denver, CO; Tara Medina-Caplis of Bozeman, MT;
Fletcher Troyer of Helena, MT and Benjamin “Ben” Caplis of Helena, MT.
A funeral service is set for 10:00AM, Saturday, September 29, 2018, at Garden City
Funeral Home in Missoula, MT with a luncheon reception following the service.
(Garden City Funeral Home, 1705 West Broadway, Missoula, MT).
A celebration of life service will be held in Sun City, AZ, for Rose’s Arizona friends and
family. Details are pending.