Rose Ella Valley

Rose Ella (Egan) Valley, 89, of Waukon, IA passed away peacefully Monday, July 27, 2026, surrounded by family members at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN. Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 1st, at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Ben Valentine and Fr. Donald Hawes officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon. Friends may greet the family from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM Friday at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, where there will be a 3:30 PM scripture service, as well as one hour before the service at church on Saturday. The service will be live streamed on the funeral home's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/martinfunerals.

Rose Ella Valley was born on Monday, December 7, 1936, to Timothy B. and Mary M. (Donahue) Egan on her parents’ farm in Linton Township, rural Harpers Ferry, IA. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Pius the V Catholic Church, Cherry Mound. Rose Ella attended Linton No. 1 School and after her dad died, she farmed the family farm in Linton Township, raising dairy cows and crops before she met the man of her dreams, Harold Valley. They were married at St. Pius the V, Cherry Mound on June 5, 1956. Harold and Rose Ella were married for 45 years, and four children were born to this union: Tim, Rita, Karen, and Kevin.

Harold and Rose Ella had strong faith and instilled that in all their children. Family was their life and they loved every minute of family time. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who consistently made a person feel welcome in her home and always made sure everyone had plenty to eat. Her specialty was homemade cinnamon rolls and wonderful potato salad; she taught her grandchildren how to make homemade donuts, cookies, and many goodies. Her kitchen always had fresh baked smells. She lived a simple and humble life, but was the richest person in faith, love, and support of her family.

She was very proud of her Irish heritage and made sure St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated every year. Harold and Rose Ella, along with other family members, enjoyed a trip to Ireland and England in 1988.

For many years at St. Patrick Catholic Church, she helped prepare and serve funeral dinners, served on the Women’s Board, helped sell concessions during bingo, and volunteered to serve school lunch. She volunteered many hours at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store to increase income for the church. She was a 4-H leader and she dearly loved kids, babysitting for many neighbors, friends, and family. And of course, one of her favorite hobbies was collecting and reading cookbooks, cover-to-cover.

She had a very creative mind, was talented artistically, and so innovative with figuring out how to fix things. She could draw, sew, do floral arrangements, and make decorations with such detail and perfection. There wasn’t a thing in the house broken that she couldn’t take apart and fix (and that was long before YouTube).

She is survived by her two sons: Tim (Torre) Valley and Kevin (Brenda) Valley, both of Rochester, MN; two daughters: Rita (Lou) Swenson of Waukon and Karen (Kurt) Schulte of Decorah, IA; grandchildren: Erika (Eric Nelson) Staub, Carl Staub, Ellen (Sam) Fritton, Paul (Laurel Morris) Valley, Brian (Amanda) Swenson, Nick (Travis) Swenston, Michael (Ahnna) Schulte, Justin Schulte, and Alison (Jay) Ebron; great-grandchildren: Annabelle and Theodore Fritton, Josephine Valley, Harry and Flynn Schulte, and Desmond Ebron; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband Harold Valley in 2001; parents Timothy and Mary Egan; father and mother-in-law Bernard and Esther Valley; siblings: Johnny (Myrtle) Egan, Catherine (Paul) Ferring, Mary (Lawrence) Benda, Helen (Vernis) Haberichter, and Tim Egan; brothers-in-law: Mark (Mabel) Valley and Joe (Marian) Valley; and great-grandchild Isabella Rose Swenson.

Honorary casketbearers are Bob and Paul Benda, Mark Egan, Dick Haberichter, and Sheri Rowe. Casketbearers are Sam Fritton, Justin and Michael Schulte, Brian Swenson, Nick and Travis Swenston, Paul Valley, and Jay Ebron.