Rosalie Lillian (Caswell) Prante was born to Arthur & Ethel Caswell on the 8 th of April, 1930, in Myrtle
Creek, Oregon. She went home to heaven on December 5, 2022.
Rosalie and her two siblings - Helen and Wayne - grew up in Oregon, spending summers picking
strawberries and other crops in the Willamette Valley. She graduated from Salem Academy in 1948 and
moved to Washington shortly thereafter to attend Seattle Pacific University, where she earned her
teaching certificate. In 1951, Rosalie began teaching at Elma High School where she enjoyed a career
that spanned 36 years - teaching typing, general business, bookkeeping, business machines, business
math, and shorthand classes until her retirement in 1987. She was also a longtime advisor to the
school's FBLA club, and chaperoned many student trips to various out-of-town conferences &
competitions over the years.
Rosalie married Ron Prante on December 26, 1954. Together, they bought a farm in Elma and raised
two kids, generations of beef cows and barn cats, and other various animals the kids dragged home. In
addition to her full-time teaching job, being a wife and mother, and helping around the farm, Rosalie
enjoyed several decades as a member of the local Greenwood Homemakers Club. She was a devout
Christian and a 65+ year member of the Elma Church of God, teaching adult Sunday School classes for
many of those years. After retirement, she and Ron enjoyed attending their grandkids' various sporting
events and activities, traveling with their RV, and playing pinochle with their lifelong friends
Rosalie was preceded in death by her husband Ron in 2018. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-
law, Carol & Kyle Cristelli of Montesano, her son and daughter-in-law Dennis & Carman Prante of Elma,
granddaughters Stefanie Cristelli of Pasco and Alexi Prante of Montesano, and grandson Kylar Prante of
Spokane. Rosalie is also survived by her brother-in-law Vernon Johnson of Bend OR, and numerous
nieces and nephews.
Services for Rosalie will be held at 1pm on December 27th, 2022 at the Elma Church of God - 109 South
6 th Street in Elma. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her name may be made to the Elma Church
of God at PO Box 684, Elma WA 98541.