Rosemary Stoehr Barta

Rosemary Barta passed away on August 24th after bravely fighting a prolonged battle. Never a quitter, Rose fought hard and made sure to remain until she was able to see all her grandchildren and loved ones one last time. Even in her most difficult moments towards the end, she concerned herself with the concerns and fears of those around her, not the effects of her illness. She always greeted her visitors with a smile, no matter how poorly she felt. She loved her family and friends with a ferocity matched only by the intensity of her blue eyes when one of her sons would fist fight with each other or a grandchild succeeded at anything.

She is survived by her husband Gary, sons Jon (Sarah), Paul (Teresa), and the ones that really mattered to her: grandchildren Maggie, Pablo, Lizzie, Rosa, and Leo.

She is preceded in death by her parents Alex and Helen Stoehr. Rose’s parents passed early in her adulthood and she always kept them in her heart and mind and never let them be forgotten.

Rose was born in Lincoln Nebraska and was a Lincoln Southeast Knight. She moved down the road to attend Doane College where she met Gary: the love of her life. They spent the following 50+ years loving, fishing, and nagging each other. Rose became a teacher for the Millard Public School District. Her greatest professional asset was her ability to make everyone in her orbit feel like they mattered. Students, teachers, parents, janitors, it didn’t matter. Everyone that Rose met walked away feeling like they mattered. Because they did. Rose just had a way of alerting them to that fact. That was the magic of Rose.

Rose retired from education in her mid-sixties and she and Gary focused their energy on building a new home and their Sandhills home-away-from-home, the “Elyria Retreat.” Rumors remain that she encouraged Gary to build the cabin largely so she would get 1-2 days a week alone where she could smoke a Salem and play Candy Crush in peace. She spent her final years driving all over the state watching her grandkids in their endeavors. Rain or drought, snow or the blast-furnace of a late August sun could not stop Rose and her Gary from cheering on their grandchildren through victory and loss. The grandkids always knew they mattered and no matter how bad the beatdown on the field/court was (and there were quite a few), the grandkids always felt better after a game because Rose would encourage them through it all. That was the magic of Rose.

Rose will be deeply missed by anyone who ever spent more than a passing moment with her. While the family feels her “loss”, they also carry so much of her with them that it feels like she is still close to them. The family would ask that to honor Rose’s memory, have a beer and a laugh with a loved one.

Memorial Mass 10:00 AM Monday (10/5/2026) at St. Charles Borromeo 7790 S 192nd Street, Omaha, NE. Private interment.

Memorials to Tunnels to Towers Foundation 2361 Hylan Blvd. Staten Island, NY 10306 

Roeder Mortuary 11710 Standing Stone - Gretna, NE - 402-332-0090 www.RoederMortuary.com