Galen C. and Grace I. Roose Family Music Department Endowment

Galen C. Roose (1892-1955) and Grace I. (Slagle) Roose (1894-1955) valued education for themselves, their family and others. They made Nappanee, Indiana their home and raised their family there while serving many years in local schools and in the First Brethren Church.

Mr. Roose taught school for 40 years and served as Principal for 15 or more of those years. He prepared for his career with a teaching certification or training obtained from Goshen College, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University. His commitment meant study in summer and evening classes, correspondence courses and other part-time study at Goshen College. Mrs. Roose taught in Nappanee area country schools prior to her marriage. She also attended Goshen College to prepare for certification as an elementary school teacher.

Galen and Grace served the Nappanee First Brethren Church for many years as Sunday School Teachers, Deacon, Deaconess, and countless other ways. They had three children and ten grandchildren. Galen and Grace’s first child, Carlyle Stanley Roose, died as an infant, succumbing to the summer flu in 1919. Two additional children came into the family, Rosemary Ellen in 1921 and Lisle Wade in 1925. Both children are now deceased – Lisle in 1983 and Rosemary in 1993.

Rosemary’s educational experiences included having her father as her math teacher and high school principal at Nappanee, IN. Rosemary was a Laura Kindig Scholarship student beneficiary at Goshen College, 1939-1943. At Goshen, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Music and a Math minor and preparation to teach grades 7th to 12th grades in Indiana. In 1954, she earned her Master of Arts in Education at Northern Arizona State University in Flagstaff, AZ. Rosemary served as a piano accompanist while in high school, in college, in her church and in the schools in which she taught. Rosemary taught 22 years in the public schools of Indiana, Arizona and California.

Rosemary married Alfred G. Zook, who also graduated from Goshen College in 1941. Alfred enjoyed singing in college choirs and men’s quartets. His Bachelor of Arts degree was in Physical Science with teaching credentials. In 1951, Alfred received his Master of Arts in Education at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. Alfred taught in H.S. sciences in Arizona and California, which he did for 40 years. Upon graduation from Goshen College, Alfred spent four years in Civilian Public Service in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Montana. Rosemary and Alfred have four children and attended the Presbyterian Church since their marriage in 1949.

Like his elder sister, Lisle attended Nappanee Public Schools and Goshen College where Lisle received pre-medical training prior to his study at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and obtained his Medical Degree (M.D.). Lisle’s medical practice in Ohio and Indiana extended over a period of thirty-five years. He also served as a Medical Examiner in the US Air Force during the Korean War, but his primary practice as a physician was in his hometown of Nappanee. Lisle’s interests called him to serve on the Board of Trustees of Ashland College (Ohio), the Nappanee Kiwanis Club, the local school Board of Education and sing in community musicals such as “The Music Man”.

Lisle married Jean E. Sechrist also of Nappanee, Indiana and Jean also attended Goshen College. She came within six semester hours of qualifying for her degree, but polio and raising a family of 6 children slowed her progress toward that goal. Jean and Lisle both enjoyed music. Jean played flute and drums in H.S. Lisle played tuba and led a small German band that provided local entertainment. Jeans and Lisle were, like their parents, strong supporters of the Nappanee First Brethren Church.