Rose Mathilda Coussens

Rose Mathilda Coussens of Hillsboro, Oregon, passed away January 14, 2024, at the age of 99, only two months short of her 100th birthday, at Jennings McCall Center in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Rose was born March 12, 1924, in Portland, Oregon, the only child of Werner and Mathilda (Seidler) Schallberger.  She grew up on a dairy farm in the Sylvan/Beaverton area.  In 1937, at age 13, she moved to Hillsboro when her parents bought a farm on Glencoe Road.  It was the only home she would ever know.  In 1941, she graduated from St. Mary of the Valley High School.  She loved music and played the piano and accordion.  She was also a talented artist and seamstress.
On the farm, she was a hard worker, a farmer's daughter, and soon to be, a farmer's wife.    May 22, 1946, she married Remi Coussens at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Hillsboro.  Their honeymoon included seeing the California Missions.  She talked her dad into letting them buy the farm and together they started a dairy farm.
Her dad was from Switzerland, a heritage she embraced.  Besides playing the accordion with polka bands, she and Remi would go to lots of Swiss dances and picnics.  She loved to dance.
With the years, the farm and family grew.  They welcomed six children.  Farm life was busy and hard.  She cooked for the farm crews that would come to harvest crops.  She would take lunches out to the field for the men combining the wheat.   She did this all while juggling all the demands of babies and kids growing up.  Still, she volunteered to help out at church and school.  She was a long-time member of St. Edward Catholic Church and the Altar Society, as well as the Washington County Dairy Wives.  In spite of so many duties at home, she often volunteered to be a room mother, bringing homemade treats to school birthdays and functions.
And, could she cook!  She kept the family fed and when the kids came home from school, there was always the smell of custard, pies and nut bread in the kitchen.  Her pies were legendary – all sorts – apple, peach, berry…  And, nothing went to waste.  She canned everything that came from the garden that wasn't eaten or given away.
Rose loved flora and fauna. She loved animals and had horses growing up.  She was a magnet for all sorts of animals – even skunks, sometimes with odorous results!  Dogs and cats, she had too many to name - she either rescued them, or they wandered in to live with her.  She was also passionate about flowers and had a spectacular rose garden with many different varieties.   With Remi, she was also a member of the Tualatin Valley Garden Club for many years.
When working a dairy farm, there was little time, if any, for vacations.  "Getaways" were to the beach, mainly to go clamming, one of her favorite things to do.  One of the first family vacations was to Minam River Lodge in Eastern Oregon after the kids were older.  As the kids left home, she and Remi did travel.  Besides many places in the U.S., they went to Canada, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and, to Europe multiple times.  She was a dedicated wife and partner to Remi and they were married 68 years until he passed in 2014.
Rose is survived by her six children and their spouses, Virginia (Ginny) and John Cross of Houston, TX, Kathy and Steve Heinrich of Cornelius, OR, Joe and Karen Coussens of Portland, OR, Patty and Rick Dobbs of Hillsboro, OR, Theresa and Rod Williams of Hillsboro, OR, and Paul H. Coussens and his girlfriend Amy Sherwood of Hillsboro, OR, twelve grandchildren, Richard Cross, Oak Park, CA, Robert Cross, Alpharetta, GA, David Cross, Covington, LA, Nathan Coussens, Beaverton, OR,  Rachel (Coussens) Jacobs, Portland, OR, Paul R. Coussens, Portland, OR, Becky (Dobbs) Lane, Bend, OR, Kevin Dobbs, Albany, OR, Jamie (Williams) McCarthy, Hillsboro, OR, Shannon Williams, Kirkland, WA, Jeffrey Coussens, Hillsboro, OR, and Kasey Coussens, Hillsboro, OR, and ten great-grandchildren, Andrew and Austin Cross, Peyton and Mackensie Cross, Ayla, Rory and Lily Jacobs, Taylor Lane, Henry and Clark Coussens.
Those wishing to make a memorial donation in Rose's memory may do so to the Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon in Beaverton, Oregon.