Rosella Regina (Galing) Reiss dies at 92
Rosella Regina (Galing) Reiss, age 92, of rural Alta Vista, died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2017, at home surrounded by her family.A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, 2017, at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Alta Vista with Msgr. Carl Schmitt celebrating. Burial will be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery at St. Cecelia, Elma.Friends may greet the family from 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2017, at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in Elma, with a 7 p.m. Rosary. Visitation will continue at the church one hour prior to the funeral mass on Saturday. Online condolences for Rosella’s family may be left at www.conway-markhamfh.com. Memorials may be directed to the family.Rosella was born on Dec. 1, 1924, on the family farm near Alta Vista, the daughter of Herman and Mary (Koci) Galing. She attended country school as well as Immaculate Conception School in North Washington, where she graduated from the eighth grade. She then worked on the family farm until her marriage to Paul Reiss on November 9, 1943, at Immaculate Conception Church in North Washington. Rosella worked diligently beside her husband on the farm where they raised cattle, hogs, chickens, and grain farmed. She also raised geese. She was a nurse’s aide at Chautauqua Rest Home in Charles City in the early 1970s. She enjoyed many hobbies with African violets being her favorite flower as well as many other plants, both indoors and outdoors. Rosella crocheted and embroidered many items with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren being the recipients of many of the pieces. For years, her family enjoyed her homemade cinnamon rolls and kolaches. She was a member of the Rosary Society of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church as well as the Deer Chix Club. Rosella is survived by her sons Paul Reiss of Palm Springs, Calif; Edward (Gwen) Reiss of Ellendale, Minn; Gerald Reiss of Charles City; her daughters Rita Marie (Chad) Leitch of Dubuque; Janice (Chris) Reiss-Ebert of Davenport; 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Paul in 1995; her sons Donald in 1975 and Lawrence in 2005; daughter-in-law Jana (Lawrence) Reiss in 2014; grandson Adam Leitch in 1998. Rosella was also preceded in death by her sisters Agnes Eichenberger, Hilda Zweibohmer, and Helen Geerts, and her brothers Bernard Galing and Henry Galing.
