Yvonne Cogswell Rosenquist

Yvonne Cogswell Rosenquist passed away peacefully on Monday, May 8^th, in Glen Rose, Texas. She leaves behind many family members who remember her joyful smile and laughter: daughters Angie Dear of Littleton, Colorado and Camille Willis of St Louis Park, Minnesota, sons Dr. Edward Rosenquist III and his wife, Marina, of Irving, Texas, Jack Rosenquist and his wife, Cathy, of Gainesville, Virginia. Yvonne was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years Edward A. Rosenquist, Jr. and her parents, Wilson and Camilla Cogswell, her siblings Margaret Cogswell, Annette Pearce, Bobbie Harris and Dr. Jack Cogswell.

Yvonne’s loving legacy as “Mimi” is celebrated by her grandsons Jared Dear, E.A.“Ted” Rosenquist IV, James Rosenquist, Andrew Willis and her granddaughters Jennifer Cook, Dr. Elizabeth Willis, Yvonne Clements, Janie Rice, Dallas Dear and Amy Frazier and their respective spouses including Megan Dear, Elaina Rosenquist, Adam Cook, Ken Clements and Matthew Frazier. Mimi also loved celebrating life with her 6 great-grandchildren, Maddie, Jack, Josie, Anna, Colt and Deacon. She dearly loved her church family at the Granbury Church of Christ – especially her co-volunteers with whom she served every week at the Christian Service Center Pantry.

Yvonne was born at home on May 20, 1932 in Lockney, Texas. She graduated from Hillsboro High in 1947 and moved to the new family farm in Eddy, Texas the same day. She attended Abilene Christian College and North Texas State College (University of North Texas) graduating with honors in 1951. She taught elementary school in Houston and in 1954 was selected for a teaching contract at the Socony-Mobil School in Caracas, Venezuela. There she met a handsome petroleum engineer from Southern California – Edward Rosenquist. Ed and Yvonne married in Venezuela in 1955, began their family in West Covina, CA, followed by a move in 1960 to Durango, CO and to Dallas, TX in 1963.  She returned to school and became a registered dietician and worked for the Dallas Independent School District to help with her children’s college expenses.

In 1984 they left the U.S. for an opportunity with Aramco in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia where they lived for 8 years. While based there Yvonne led tours to over 70 countries and also created a jewelry business, “Yvonne’s Originals” creating over 2,500 personalized custom jewelry pieces from beautiful stones, beads, and artifacts from her travels.

In 1992, after Ed retired, they moved to their final home in Pecan Plantation on the Brazos River. The sprawling house and grounds were often full of guests and gatherings including church group parties, reunions with dear friends and many family outings. In 2000, Yvonne and Ed started an annual Mimi Camp for her grandchildren and eventually her great grandchildren that lasted until 2018.  Each year the cousins would sport matching t-shirts that said “I survived Mimi Camp”. Just last year, 25 members of her family gathered in Granbury to celebrate Mimi’s 90^th Birthday! These gatherings provided many opportunities for wonderful conversations and deepening friendships between friends and family while everyone was enjoying the amazing back porch of the house on Buena Vista Dr.

Yvonne lived her life in faithful service to God and his people. She is well known for teaching young wives about loving their husbands and also sharing biblical wisdom with young mothers about raising their children (Motherly Love group). Yvonne was well loved by her friends and family and will be dearly missed.

Graveside Service will be held, Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 11:15am at Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery located at 2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy, Dallas, Texas 75211. Visitation will be Friday, May 26^th 5pm-7pm at Martin’s Funeral Home at 100 S. Morgan St, Granbury, Texas. On Saturday, May 27^th at 1:00pm, there will be Celebration of Life for Yvonne at Granbury Church of Christ in Granbury, Texas with a reception onsite to follow. The family looks forward to these celebrations and would love to hear your stories and memories!

In lieu of flowers, memorials honoring her life can be sent to the Christian Service Center which supports Yvonne’s well-loved food pantry. http://granburycoc.net/about/christian-service-center/