Maribel Joyce Rozendal

Maribel Joyce Smith Rozendal, 82, of Bastrop, Texas passed away on Wednesday, September 26, 2018.Maribel was born in Fremont, Michigan on March 15, 1936. When she was 18 months old, her parents took jobs as educators with the Bureau of Indians Affairs at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine, South Dakota. She learned to speak the Sioux language from her babysitter. During her childhood, she lived on many different reservations in South Dakota. She rode her horse to one-room schoolhouses where, in one case, she was the only girl attending. At the age of 14, she had to leave her parents to attend high school in the closest town, Chamberlain, which was a two-hour drive away.It was in Chamberlain that she met her future husband, David Rozendal. Their first date was the senior prom. After a few months of dating, she left to attend South Dakota State University, on the opposite side of the state from David. They wrote each other every day. Maribel graduated college in 3 1/2 years and married David on December 21, 1957. In 1960, after David finished his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota, they moved to El Paso, Texas, where both of their children were born. In 1965, they moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, where Maribel finished her Master’s degree and David finished his PhD at Purdue University. They moved back to El Paso in 1967 and lived there for the next 33 years.Maribel used her degrees in Home Economics Education and Family Finance to teach preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and adult education. She was most proud to teach at New Mexico State University and at El Paso’s School-Age Parent Center, where she taught pregnant girls nutrition, child development, sex education and personal financial management. She retired as an administrator in vocational education with the El Paso School District.After retiring, Maribel and Dave moved to Bastrop to be closer to their children in Austin. They joined First United Methodist Church of Bastrop and made many close friends. They enjoyed learning and traveling with Elderhostel around the United States. Maribel got involved with her church circle, her bridge group, Red Hats, the Bastrop Ladies Reading Group, and volunteering with an Alzheimer’s respite group. Maribel is survived by her son, Ken Rozendal of Austin; daughter and son-in-law Merry and Jerry Rightmer of Austin; their older grandson Ryan Rightmer of Pittsburgh and his wife Rebecca and their younger grandson, Justin Rightmer of Houston and his fiancé, Callie Downs. She is also survived by her older brother, Lowery Smith of Minneapolis and his wife, Mary Ann, and her younger brother, Ted Smith of Florence, Alabama and his wife Ann.Memorial services will be held at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 7 at First United Methodist Church of Bastrop. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to First United Methodist Church, c/o New Hope Alzheimer’s Respite, P.O. Box 698, Smithville, TX 78957 or to a charity of your choice.