Rozella Atkinson

Rozella Atkinson, "Rozie", was born in Findlay, Illinois, on February 22, 1917. She died on July 10, 2023, in her apartment at Cumbernauld Village in Winfield, KS. In her 106 years she saw a lot of changes in her life! Rozie graduated from Findlay High School in the class of 1935. She enrolled at Sparks Business College in Shelbyville, Illinois, in the summer of 1935 and finished her training at the end of the 1936 summer term. At Sparks she took the Civil Service Exam, and from that she got an offer to go to Washington, DC, to work for the Loans and Currency Department of US Treasury. Within a month she was transferred to the Filing System and then applied for a job in the Department of Justice, where she worked her way up to secretary, typing briefs for the US Supreme Court. In 1945 several of the DOJ attorneys were transferred to New York. They asked Rozie to go with them because they said she could get along with everyone. She worked in New York until 1946, when one of the attorneys moved to Kansas City. He asked Rozie to go with him and become his office manager. When her boss died in 1967, she went to work for the US Department of Agriculture at the Poultry Division. She retired in 1984. While in Washington, DC, a group of her coworkers had tickets to watch the Washington Redskins. Rozie bought her first NFL tickets. When she moved to Kansas City, Rozie said she was disappointed that there was no NFL team. In the spring of 1963, Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans relocated to Kansas City, and became the Kansas City Chiefs. Rozie and her friends bought season tickets. She held three tickets for over 50 years. In 2015, her close friends Kent and Julie Melcher decided to retire to Winfield. When they told Rozie the news, she said, "What am I going to do?" Kent said, "You could move to Winfield." She hesitated for just a moment and then said, "Okay." She moved to the Cumbernauld Village retirement community in September, 2015, where she made many friends. Rozie was thrilled when her Chiefs won Super Bowls in 1970, 2020, and again in 2023. She was already looking forward to watching the Chiefs win the Super Bowl again in 2024. Preceding Rozie in death were her parents, her sister, Losha Guin, of Sullivan, Illinois, and her nephews, Thomas Guin, Jr., and Stanley Guin. She leaves her nephew Gregory Guin, of Urbana, Illinois, six grandnieces and grandnephews, and close friends Kent and Julie Melcher, of Winfield, their three children and their spouses, and their eight grandchildren. In 1975, Kent and Julie became her "adopted family", celebrating the birth of their children and grandchildren, and attending family celebrations and holiday dinners. After she retired in 1984 Rozie spent many years volunteering for the Kidney Foundation and at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City. She also enjoyed traveling internationally with a group of friends. Memorials in Rozie's name may be made to the National Kidney Foundation for Kansas, Oklahoma, and western Missouri, or the charity of your choice. You may send your memorial contribution to Miles Funeral Service, 4001 E. Ninth Ave., PO Box 720, Winfield, KS, 67156. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, August 5, at 2:00 p.m. at Cumbernauld Village. A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 3, 2023 at the Findlay Cemetery in Findlay, Illinois.