Rosemary A. Wills

Rosemary A. Wills, age 88, of Dover, passed away peacefully Tuesday, May 21, 2019, surrounded by her family.

Born November 29, 1930, in Massillon, she was a daughter of the late Gilbert C. and Virginia Ertle Woods. Rosemary graduated in 1948 from Massillon’s Washington High School and went on to attend Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, Canton, becoming a registered nurse. She met a young Navy man, Edward H. “Bud” Wills, and the couple married on November 22, 1951. Rosemary was employed by Union Hospital, Dover, for 44 years, much of that time in the Obstetrics Department.

She was an active member of Dover’s St. Joseph Parish, the church’s Regina Study Club and Christian Mothers. Rosemary also belonged to the Dover Lions Club and attended many international Lions Club conventions with Bud over the years. Other memberships included the Child Conservation League, Dover Women of the Moose, as well as a life membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary.

Rosemary attended annual luncheons with her friends from nursing school, and recently participated in her class’s 68th reunion. She enjoyed playing bridge, traveling with Bud, reading and word puzzles of all kinds. Rosemary especially enjoyed keeping up with the activities, and sometimes antics, of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Survivors include her loving husband of 67 years, Bud; her children, Edward W. (Marilyn) Wills of Bolivar, Mary Ellen (Steven) Sherer of New Philadelphia, and Kathy (John) Novak of Akron; her six grandchildren, Anna Quigg, Jasin Wills, Steven Sherer, Alison Marshall, Andrew Novak and Adam Novak; her nine great-grandchildren; and her sister, Sue (Ernest) Sarbaugh of Massillon.

In addition to her parents, Rosemary was preceded in death by her beloved son, George Gilbert Wills, and her sister, Judy Heimann.

A funeral service will be held Sunday, May 26, at 1 p.m., in the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover; Deacon Lyn Houze of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Bolivar will officiate. Burial will be in St. Joseph Calvary Cemetery. Following the committal, there will be a lunch in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover. Family and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Saturday, May 25, 2 – 5 p.m., and on Sunday, 12 – 1 p.m.

The family suggests that contributions in Rosemary’s memory be made to the Dover Lions Club, c/o John Stalder, 614 E. Fourth St., Dover, Ohio 44622, or, Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. S.W., New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663.