Rose Marie Wilkens

A graveside memorial service for Rose Marie Wilkens, 92, of Salem, formerly of Coos Bay will be held at 2pm, Saturday, September 18, 2021, with Pastor Mark Schiro of the Bay Area Church of the Nazarene, officiating.

As they were together in life for over 50 years, Rose and Ferdy requested to be together after their deaths; this will also be a remembrance of their many years together.

Rose Marie was born May 27, 1928 in Coos Bay and spent most of her life in Oregon. She passed away October 11, 2020 in Salem, Oregon. 

Rose married her high school sweetheart, Ferdy Wilkens November 27, 1948 at Holy Redeemer Church in North Bend. They raised their family in Lakeside. In the early 70s, they moved to Eugene, where Rose attended Merritt Davis Business College with a focus on accounting. After graduation, she went to work in banking. When their youngest child graduated from high school, they moved to Alaska spending most of their time in Fairbanks, where she continued her banking career retiring from Denali State Bank. In the late 80s, Rose and Ferdy retired and became snowbirds spending winters in Nevada and summers in Oregon. She was an avid reader and loved the challenge of crossword and word search puzzles. She also enjoyed playing card games especially bridge. After the death of her husband in 2000, she moved back to Eugene and eventually to Salem to be close to family.

Rose is survived by her three children, Jacquie Parker (George), Sheri Woolcock (George) and Bruce Wilkens (Leasa); along with six grandchildren, John Anderson (Elisha), Ashley Holmes (Chris), Rachel Murray (Josh), Veronica Olayvar (Lee), Emily Whipple, and Mitch Wilkens (Aly) and three great grandchildren, Teagan and Brayden Anderson and Jaxen Goodwin.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ferdy Wilkens; her two daughters, Rhonda and Mary Sue; her mother, Goldie Knaus; her father, Charles Porter, and her brothers, Bill and John. 

Family and friends are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.coosbayareafunerals.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rose Marie Wilkens, please visit our floral store.