Our beloved Rosemary Fair Mock, age 97, died after a short illness on Tuesday March 20, 2018, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Namaste Alzheimer's Care Center.
Rosemary was born August 27, 1920 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Parents Daniel Jasper Fair and Margaret Ebright Fair raised her in Sterling, Kansas, but spent their summers at the family cabin in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Rosemary took dance lessons from age 6 and, at 14, started her own dance school. She played piano by ear and wrote songs, lyrics and poetry from a young age. Her closest childhood friend was her cousin, Elizabeth Jane.
Early schooling included Sterling Public schools, Gulf Park College for Girls, Gulfport, Mississippi, and University of Oklahoma, where she met her future husband, Lewis E. Mock II. They were married in Norman, Oklahoma in 1941.
The couple lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lewis attended optometric school, Greenville, Mississippi, and New York City. While her husband served in WWII, Rosemary lived with her parents in Topeka, Kansas, and founded a modern dance school.
After the war Rosemary and Lewis moved to Dodge City, Kansas, where Dr. Mock opened an optometric practice. Their first daughter, Melody, was born in 1947. Three children followed: Amanda, Timothy, and Lewis.
Best known as the original “Dodge City Kitty” at the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show, she and her husband, “Doc the Piano Player,” created a tasteful family show that authentically reflected 1870’s life in Dodge City. Rosemary was the director, producer, composer, choreographer and costume designer. She cast and trained the show’s stellar performers, which, by the end of their nine-year run, included all four Mock children. She also wrote the show’s theme song, Down at the Long Branch Saloon.
Rosemary structured the Dance Department at Saint Mary of the Plains College, serving as dance instructor and choreographer for seven Broadway musicals. She also worked for KGNO radio.
President and organizer of the state Kansas Dance Councils, Rosemary also was a dance panel member with the Kansas Cultural Arts Association.
After retiring from the Long Branch, Rosemary worked as a visual and developmental trainer at her husband’s optometric practice. Later she opened “Muy Bien,” an elegant Mexican restaurant, entertaining guests with her singing and piano playing.
Rosemary then returned to school, earning a B.A. in Speech and Drama at Sterling College and an M.A. in Drama at Hays State University. She also became an ASCAP-published playwright of the melodrama, Jenny the Mail Order Bride.
In 1991 Rosemary and Lewis retired to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she spent her happiest times at Fairacre cabin in Green Mountain Falls.
Rosemary loved music, writing poetry, painting, theater, reading, Ikebana flower arrangements, cooking, traveling and being with family. At age 97 she could still sing perfect harmony with her children.
Vivacious and charismatic, Rosemary was “one of a kind.” Adored for her generous, loving and nurturing spirit, she brought joy to everyone who knew her and will be profoundly missed.
Rosemary was predeceased by her parents and brother Daniel, husband Lewis (1994), daughter Amanda (2012), and great granddaughter Rylyn (2011).
She is survived by her children Melody Mock Durso, (Denver, Co), Timothy L. Mock (Springfield, Mo.) and Lewis E. Mock III (Colorado Springs, Co), four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Rosemary’s ashes will be scattered at Mountain Memorial Cemetery in Woodland Park, Colorado. A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled at a later date. Donations are encouraged to any performing arts organization of the donor’s choosing, or to Namaste Alzheimer’s Care Center, 2 Penrose Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906.
Rosemary was born August 27, 1920 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Parents Daniel Jasper Fair and Margaret Ebright Fair raised her in Sterling, Kansas, but spent their summers at the family cabin in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Rosemary took dance lessons from age 6 and, at 14, started her own dance school. She played piano by ear and wrote songs, lyrics and poetry from a young age. Her closest childhood friend was her cousin, Elizabeth Jane.
Early schooling included Sterling Public schools, Gulf Park College for Girls, Gulfport, Mississippi, and University of Oklahoma, where she met her future husband, Lewis E. Mock II. They were married in Norman, Oklahoma in 1941.
The couple lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lewis attended optometric school, Greenville, Mississippi, and New York City. While her husband served in WWII, Rosemary lived with her parents in Topeka, Kansas, and founded a modern dance school.
After the war Rosemary and Lewis moved to Dodge City, Kansas, where Dr. Mock opened an optometric practice. Their first daughter, Melody, was born in 1947. Three children followed: Amanda, Timothy, and Lewis.
Best known as the original “Dodge City Kitty” at the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show, she and her husband, “Doc the Piano Player,” created a tasteful family show that authentically reflected 1870’s life in Dodge City. Rosemary was the director, producer, composer, choreographer and costume designer. She cast and trained the show’s stellar performers, which, by the end of their nine-year run, included all four Mock children. She also wrote the show’s theme song, Down at the Long Branch Saloon.
Rosemary structured the Dance Department at Saint Mary of the Plains College, serving as dance instructor and choreographer for seven Broadway musicals. She also worked for KGNO radio.
President and organizer of the state Kansas Dance Councils, Rosemary also was a dance panel member with the Kansas Cultural Arts Association.
After retiring from the Long Branch, Rosemary worked as a visual and developmental trainer at her husband’s optometric practice. Later she opened “Muy Bien,” an elegant Mexican restaurant, entertaining guests with her singing and piano playing.
Rosemary then returned to school, earning a B.A. in Speech and Drama at Sterling College and an M.A. in Drama at Hays State University. She also became an ASCAP-published playwright of the melodrama, Jenny the Mail Order Bride.
In 1991 Rosemary and Lewis retired to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she spent her happiest times at Fairacre cabin in Green Mountain Falls.
Rosemary loved music, writing poetry, painting, theater, reading, Ikebana flower arrangements, cooking, traveling and being with family. At age 97 she could still sing perfect harmony with her children.
Vivacious and charismatic, Rosemary was “one of a kind.” Adored for her generous, loving and nurturing spirit, she brought joy to everyone who knew her and will be profoundly missed.
Rosemary was predeceased by her parents and brother Daniel, husband Lewis (1994), daughter Amanda (2012), and great granddaughter Rylyn (2011).
She is survived by her children Melody Mock Durso, (Denver, Co), Timothy L. Mock (Springfield, Mo.) and Lewis E. Mock III (Colorado Springs, Co), four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Rosemary’s ashes will be scattered at Mountain Memorial Cemetery in Woodland Park, Colorado. A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled at a later date. Donations are encouraged to any performing arts organization of the donor’s choosing, or to Namaste Alzheimer’s Care Center, 2 Penrose Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906.
Our beloved Rosemary Fair Mock, age 97, died after a short illness on Tuesday March 20, 2018, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Namaste Alzheimer's Care Center.
Rosemary was born August 27, 1920 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Parents Daniel Jasper Fair and Margaret Ebright Fair raised her in Sterling, Kansas, but spent their summers at the family cabin in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Rosemary took dance lessons from age 6 and, at 14, started her own dance school. She played piano by ear and wrote songs, lyrics and poetry from a young age. Her closest childhood friend was her cousin, Elizabeth Jane.
Early schooling included Sterling Public schools, Gulf Park College for Girls, Gulfport, Mississippi, and University of Oklahoma, where she met her future husband, Lewis E. Mock II. They were married in Norman, Oklahoma in 1941.
The couple lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lewis attended optometric school, Greenville, Mississippi, and New York City. While her husband served in WWII, Rosemary lived with her parents in Topeka, Kansas, and founded a modern dance school.
After the war Rosemary and Lewis moved to Dodge City, Kansas, where Dr. Mock opened an optometric practice. Their first daughter, Melody, was born in 1947. Three children followed: Amanda, Timothy, and Lewis.
Best known as the original “Dodge City Kitty” at the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show, she and her husband, “Doc the Piano Player,” created a tasteful family show that authentically reflected 1870’s life in Dodge City. Rosemary was the director, producer, composer, choreographer and costume designer. She cast and trained the show’s stellar performers, which, by the end of their nine-year run, included all four Mock children. She also wrote the show’s theme song, Down at the Long Branch Saloon.
Rosemary structured the Dance Department at Saint Mary of the Plains College, serving as dance instructor and choreographer for seven Broadway musicals. She also worked for KGNO radio.
President and organizer of the state Kansas Dance Councils, Rosemary also was a dance panel member with the Kansas Cultural Arts Association.
After retiring from the Long Branch, Rosemary worked as a visual and developmental trainer at her husband’s optometric practice. Later she opened “Muy Bien,” an elegant Mexican restaurant, entertaining guests with her singing and piano playing.
Rosemary then returned to school, earning a B.A. in Speech and Drama at Sterling College and an M.A. in Drama at Hays State University. She also became an ASCAP-published playwright of the melodrama, Jenny the Mail Order Bride.
In 1991 Rosemary and Lewis retired to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she spent her happiest times at Fairacre cabin in Green Mountain Falls.
Rosemary loved music, writing poetry, painting, theater, reading, Ikebana flower arrangements, cooking, traveling and being with family. At age 97 she could still sing perfect harmony with her children.
Vivacious and charismatic, Rosemary was “one of a kind.” Adored for her generous, loving and nurturing spirit, she brought joy to everyone who knew her and will be profoundly missed.
Rosemary was predeceased by her parents and brother Daniel, husband Lewis (1994), daughter Amanda (2012), and great granddaughter Rylyn (2011).
She is survived by her children Melody Mock Durso, (Denver, Co), Timothy L. Mock (Springfield, Mo.) and Lewis E. Mock III (Colorado Springs, Co), four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Rosemary’s ashes will be scattered at Mountain Memorial Cemetery in Woodland Park, Colorado. A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled at a later date. Donations are encouraged to any performing arts organization of the donor’s choosing, or to Namaste Alzheimer’s Care Center, 2 Penrose Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906.
Rosemary was born August 27, 1920 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Parents Daniel Jasper Fair and Margaret Ebright Fair raised her in Sterling, Kansas, but spent their summers at the family cabin in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado.
Rosemary took dance lessons from age 6 and, at 14, started her own dance school. She played piano by ear and wrote songs, lyrics and poetry from a young age. Her closest childhood friend was her cousin, Elizabeth Jane.
Early schooling included Sterling Public schools, Gulf Park College for Girls, Gulfport, Mississippi, and University of Oklahoma, where she met her future husband, Lewis E. Mock II. They were married in Norman, Oklahoma in 1941.
The couple lived in Memphis, Tennessee, where Lewis attended optometric school, Greenville, Mississippi, and New York City. While her husband served in WWII, Rosemary lived with her parents in Topeka, Kansas, and founded a modern dance school.
After the war Rosemary and Lewis moved to Dodge City, Kansas, where Dr. Mock opened an optometric practice. Their first daughter, Melody, was born in 1947. Three children followed: Amanda, Timothy, and Lewis.
Best known as the original “Dodge City Kitty” at the Long Branch Saloon Variety Show, she and her husband, “Doc the Piano Player,” created a tasteful family show that authentically reflected 1870’s life in Dodge City. Rosemary was the director, producer, composer, choreographer and costume designer. She cast and trained the show’s stellar performers, which, by the end of their nine-year run, included all four Mock children. She also wrote the show’s theme song, Down at the Long Branch Saloon.
Rosemary structured the Dance Department at Saint Mary of the Plains College, serving as dance instructor and choreographer for seven Broadway musicals. She also worked for KGNO radio.
President and organizer of the state Kansas Dance Councils, Rosemary also was a dance panel member with the Kansas Cultural Arts Association.
After retiring from the Long Branch, Rosemary worked as a visual and developmental trainer at her husband’s optometric practice. Later she opened “Muy Bien,” an elegant Mexican restaurant, entertaining guests with her singing and piano playing.
Rosemary then returned to school, earning a B.A. in Speech and Drama at Sterling College and an M.A. in Drama at Hays State University. She also became an ASCAP-published playwright of the melodrama, Jenny the Mail Order Bride.
In 1991 Rosemary and Lewis retired to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she spent her happiest times at Fairacre cabin in Green Mountain Falls.
Rosemary loved music, writing poetry, painting, theater, reading, Ikebana flower arrangements, cooking, traveling and being with family. At age 97 she could still sing perfect harmony with her children.
Vivacious and charismatic, Rosemary was “one of a kind.” Adored for her generous, loving and nurturing spirit, she brought joy to everyone who knew her and will be profoundly missed.
Rosemary was predeceased by her parents and brother Daniel, husband Lewis (1994), daughter Amanda (2012), and great granddaughter Rylyn (2011).
She is survived by her children Melody Mock Durso, (Denver, Co), Timothy L. Mock (Springfield, Mo.) and Lewis E. Mock III (Colorado Springs, Co), four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Rosemary’s ashes will be scattered at Mountain Memorial Cemetery in Woodland Park, Colorado. A Celebration of Life service will be scheduled at a later date. Donations are encouraged to any performing arts organization of the donor’s choosing, or to Namaste Alzheimer’s Care Center, 2 Penrose Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906.
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