Rosalie Downes Jackson

We want to keep our loved ones with us forever, and it hurts when forever comes too soon. Rosalie Downes Jackson, born to the late Grace and Wilson Downes on April 16, 1945, in Ridgely, MD, received her eternal wings on March 02, 2025, in Alpharetta, GA.

Rosalie, affectionately known as “Rose” earned her early education in Caroline County, MD. She attended Lockerman High School graduating in the class of 1963, where she was a cheerleader, a member of the drill team, and excelled in learning being inducted as a member of The National Honor Society.

After graduating, Rosalie relocated to Pennsylvania where she attended The Philadelphia School of Technology, where she earned a certificate in Data Entry. She then moved to Dover, De., where she attended Wilmington College, The University of Delaware and The Delaware Technical Community College majoring in Business Administration.

Rosalie’s career experiences began in Pennsylvania. There she was a Communications Specialist for the Occidental Insurance Company and was Administrative Assistant for the Philadelphia Board of Education. She relocated back to Caroline County MD. There she held various positions including Assistant Bookkeeper for the Head Start Program and Teacher’s Aide for the Public Schools System. Her most notable employment position was becoming the first African American female to be appointed as Secretary of the Transportation Department for the Caroline County Board of Education.

In 1977, the State of Delaware gained an excellent employee. Rosalie was employed as an Administrative Assistant with the Department of Corrections, retiring from The Morris Correctional Institution in 2005.

Rosalie enjoyed helping other people. She became a House Manager for the Caroline Center. To further her acts of kindness, she became a foster care provider. In doing so she earned the title of Caroline County Foster Parent of the Year. She continued to help children by volunteering in the Georgia school system as a media aide and cheerleading parent.

Rose enjoyed engaging with family and friends. She would often lend her seamstress skills to anyone who needed them. During basketball season, you knew Rose was going to be sitting in the “Dog Pound” cheering on her favorite NCH Bulldogs or at the State Farm arena cheering on the Atlanta Hawks. She loved visiting “Steve Harvey” every night and never missed an episode of Family Feud.

Rosalie believed all things were possible through CHRIST, our LORD, and SAVIOR. She was a member of New Beginnings United Methodist Church until she moved to GA. She held various positions to include Member of the Usher Board, Trustee Board and the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee. In addition, she was a past member of the NAACP, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Lockerman High School Association, Inc.

Rosalie was proceeded in death by her mother and father; siblings: Ellsworth Boyce, Deweese Downes, Joyce Mc Colley, Jean Downes, Reginald Downes, and Mary Ellen Scott.

Rosalie married her high school sweetheart (Charles) and from that union she leaves to cherish her memories daughters Wanda, Donzell, Denise and Diane, grandchildren: Michael (Sheala) and Alesiana, great grandchildren: Ryan, Rhys, and A’lani godson: Keith, Brother, Oliver Downes (Mary), sisters: Vella Beulah, Edwina Austin and Barbara Fisher (William), brother-in-law: Veron Jackson, sisters-in-law: Ann Wayman (Leon) Wanola Jackson, Debbie Downes, and Starr Hargraves and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rosalie Downes Jackson, please visit our floral store.