Rose Teresa Mengwasser

Rose Teresa Mengwasser, 80, died peacefully at her home in Jefferson City on Saturday, February 7, 2026, with her steadfast husband, Alan, at her side.

Born in Jefferson City on June 3, 1945, Rose was the oldest of Carl F. and Rose Mary (Moerschel) Vogel’s four children.  She graduated from St. Peter’s Elementary School, Helias High School (Class of 1963), and Webster College (1967).  She married Alan Alphonse Mengwasser of Rich Fountain in December 1972, and together they raised five sons. She was a loving, loyal, and devoted daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt, teacher, friend, and Catholic.

Rose’s faith was central to her life.  Highly involved at the Cathedral of St. Joseph, she proudly served as a lector, choir member, and cantor.  She had been a member of the Parish Council, school board, numerous committees, and a Christmas Bazaar coordinator for many years.  She was also a longtime volunteer at St. Mary’s Hospital annual Ice Cream Socials.  She was instrumental in establishing and sustaining St. Joseph’s Perpetual Adoration Chapel.  The pro-life movement was very important to her, and she volunteered with Missouri Right to Life and the Vitae Society and attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., many times.

Before her marriage, Rose taught English at Fatima High School and Hazelwood Senior High School and continued to teach in various ways the rest of her life.  When her sons were young, she taught children’s Sunday School and frequently served as a substitute teacher at St. Joseph’s Elementary School.  She tutored adults who were preparing to take the GED.  Later, she taught the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for those preparing to join the Catholic Church.  Rose loved to learn and share local history and was proud of the Dulle, Moerschel, and Vogel families’ roots in the community.  In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she volunteered as a docent at the Missouri Governor’s Mansion and later with the Cole County Historical Society.  She gave numerous museum tours and presented countless show-and-tell programs for schools and Scout troops using items from the Society’s museum.

A social person, Rose enjoyed attending parish picnics and fall suppers throughout mid-Missouri, as well as Knights of Columbus and American Legion dinners and programs.  She had a close group of friends who gathered many mornings at Panera, and she greatly enjoyed their fellowship, as well as time spent with the St. Joseph’s noontime Rosary group.  She also formed close relationships with staff members and fellow patients at the JCMG dialysis clinic.

Survivors include: her husband of fifty-three years, Alan Alphonse Mengwasser of Jefferson City; her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren (all Mengwassers): Alan Carl and wife Rebecca and their children Al, Eliza, and Petra of Crofton, Maryland; John Henry and wife Vanessa and their son George and daughter Oona expected in April of Cypress, Texas; Anthony Jude and wife Claire and their children Joshua and Noah of Jefferson City; Paul Stephen and wife Sarah and their children Allison, Samuel, and Jack of Jefferson City; and Patrick James and wife Kristin and their children Bridget and Camille of Columbia, Missouri; her sister, Edith Vogel of Jefferson City; sisters- and brothers-in-law, Kimberly Vogel, LuAnn Mengwasser and Jim, Marvin Talken, Leo and Annette Mengwasser, Carl and Ursie Mengwasser, Wayne and Diane Mengwasser, Sandra Mengwasser; and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was particularly close to her nephews and niece Matt Talken, Steve Talken, Jake Vogel, and Kristen Rose Vogel.

She was preceded in death by her parents; in-laws, Leo and Frances Mengwasser; sister, Emily Talken; brother, Carl M. Vogel; brother-in-law, Gary Mengwasser; nephew, Phillip Mengwasser; and firstborn son, Joseph Ernst, who died less than a month after birth.

Visitation will be 3:30-6 p.m. Thursday, February 12, 2026, at the Cathedral of St. Joseph with a prayer service at 2:30 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Friday, at the Cathedral with the Rev. Stephen Jones and the Rev. Msgr. Robert A. Kurwicki, VG concelebrating.

Burial will be in Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.

Memorials are suggested to the St. Joseph Cathedral Foundation or to St. Joseph Cathedral School.

Services entrusted to Trimble Funeral Homes – Jefferson City.    trimblefunerals.com