Rosalie Holly Tappero passed away peacefully on May 2nd, 2026 at the age of 84 after a long journey with Alzheimer’s disease. A memorial service at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Grass Valley is scheduled for Saturday, June 6th at 11:30 am with a Celebration of Life to follow at Peace Lutheran Fellowship Center in Grass Valley to begin at approximately 1:00 pm.

Rosie was born on July 19th, 1941 to Francis (Grenny) and Anona (Nonie) Grenfell in Nevada City at the Miners Hospital (currently the California College of Ayurveda on Zion Street). She was an only child. She was predeceased by her first husband, John Abas and her husband of 42 years, Joseph Tappero.

Her father’s family – the Grenfells – came to the West from Lands’ End, England upon the closure of the tin mines in Cornwall at the turn of the 20th century. Her great grandfather brought the entire brood to Idaho and then California to work the hard rock mines of silver and gold. Eventually settling in Nevada County, generations of Grenfell men worked at the Empire Mine, with Rosie’s dad, Grenny, employed there until the mine’s closure in 1956. This long connection to the life of hard rock miners also meant the women of the family learned how to make a rather wonderful and proper Cornish pasty – a skill passed down to current generations!

As a fourth generation and lifelong resident of Nevada County, Rosie attended local schools growing up, graduating from Nevada Union Senior High School in 1959. She went on to receive her elementary teaching credential from Sacramento State College. Rosie taught first grade for 37 years starting in Auburn and spending the majority of her career as a beloved educator at Bell Hill School in Grass Valley. Over those many years, Rosie’s kind-hearted and generous nature made it easy for her to form many lifelong friendships with her teaching colleagues.

She also found purpose for her caring soul as a member of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church parish. Rosie served on the vestry, and also as an ardent member of the church’s Saint Catherine’s Guild. A musician at heart – and following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother – she played the piano and was a dedicated member of the choir at her beloved Emmanuel. These activities, too, brought her more cherished friendships. For years and years, these friends from both her life as a teacher and a parish member, gathered often to stay connected – first as members of the local Red Hat Society and later, renaming themselves the Golden Girls.

Rosie was an extraordinarily active person – she was an avid gardener who loved hiking and identifying wildflowers and birds. She and her husband, Joe, were tennis players and longtime members of the Ridge Racket Club and she tried her hand at a bit of golf, as well. When not enjoying the outdoors, you could find Rosie reading, often preparing for one of the many book clubs she attended, or perhaps on her way to a game of bridge.

But most of all, Rosie was a devoted mother and grandmother. Nothing could get in the way of her doing all she could to support her ‘girls.’ She travelled, helped in classrooms, chaperoned, baked cakes, made countless meals and ferried many children to and fro and through it all she was kind, loving, full of grace and thoughtful guidance – showing everyone around her what it meant to live a life of service to her community and those she loved.

She is survived by her daughters, Wendy (Matthew) Willoughby and Tina (David) Hookom; granddaughters Olivia and Simone Willoughby and Madeline and Juliette Hookom.

Rosie’s goodness and light touched many, many people throughout her life – all those that knew her are better for it and she will be deeply missed.

Arrangements are under the care of Hooper and Weaver Mortuary.