Mary B. Rose

Mary Louise Brown Rose, age 90, of Columbia, SC, died on October 10, 2026. Mrs. Rose was born on November 3, 1935, the older daughter of W.L. Brown and Louise Briggs Brown in Del Rio, Texas. She received a bachelor's degree from Hardin-Simmons University and was a math teacher in San Felipe Schools. She married Robert (Bob) Donald Rose and moved with him to Columbia, South Carolina. She had a son, Del, and a daughter, Diane. She was a homemaker and stay-at-home mom until her children graduated from high school and then hosted two exchange students from Sweden. After her husband retired, she returned to work as a financial secretary for Christ the King Lutheran Church and Kilbourne Park Baptist Church for 18 years, retiring at the age of 70.

Her faith and church were always important to her, and she was an active member at St. Andrews Baptist Church and Kilbourne Park Baptist Church, where she participated in Sunday School, the handbell choir, the prayer room ministry, visitation of homebound members, and other ministries. She loved music, playing the piano and occasionally the dulcimer, and enjoyed walking in her Shandon neighborhood, as well as sewing, crocheting, and knitting. The extended family knew her as an excellent cook. She enjoyed traveling with her husband to Sweden, Nova Scotia, and throughout the American West.

In her later years, she moved to Wildewood Downs Assisted Living, where she became known for her sweet nature, consistent participation in activities, and love of music, earning the nickname "the hummingbird." She was preceded in death by her husband and her son and is survived by her sister, JoAnn Brown Belch, and her daughter, Diane Rose Carr (Curtis).

The family wishes to thank the staff of Wildewood Downs Assisted Living and Long-Term Care, as well as the medical staff at Prisma Baptist and Heart of Hospice, for their compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Kilbourne Park Baptist Church's Women's Ministries, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, or the Carr Family Scholarship Fund at the Midlands Technical College Foundation.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 12:00 noon at Thompson Funeral Home at Greenlawn Memorial Park. A funeral service will follow at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Serenity Gardens at Greenlawn Memorial Park. Pallbearers are Keith June, Bill Statz, Curtis Carr, and Phil Edge.