Celebration of Life

The family expands!

1980: Kathleen “Katha” Elaine Soens and George “Terry” Parker Rossman III married in a civil ceremony in Arlington, Mass. (Sept. 1978) and then a UU church wedding in Pittsburgh on November 25, 1978, presided over by Terry’s dad, George Parker Rossman Jr. Caption refers to the fact that we did not change our names when married; Mom would have preferred a name change.

Dec. 28, 1985: Valerie Broedel and David Soens are married in Long Island, NY. Both geologists!

Grandkids!

In his journals, Ted kept many photos of his grandkids with notes. Many letter and cards from the granddies were glued into the pages.

1987: Lois with first great-grandchild, Zoe Beth Soens

1989: Kailyn Elaine Soens Rossman at 14 mos. Papa’s nickname for her was “Inuit Princess.”

1991: “Zach finally climbs onto the couch and in triumph, grins.”

1991: David honing Zachry’s fighting skills.

April 1992: Inscription reads “Gramma Elaine squeezes Maddie.”

1994: Papa Ted leading a ceramic craft session.

1996: “King and Queen of Stavanger. Our Empire is in the background and our home is off to the right. The Atlantic Ocean is in the far distance — looking West!”

1993 at rented apartments in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.
Front row: Madeline on Kathleen’s lap, Lois, Kailyn in front of Elaine, Zoe, Zara on Valerie’s lap, Zachry
Back row: Terry Rossman, Alexander, Ted Jr., Ted and David

1995 in Stone Harbor. We spent many summers in New Jersey growing up, following the Soens tradition.
Zara is corralled by Zoe. Kailyn got the baby hand-off. Geordy yanks on Maddie’s curls. Maddie was trying to show off her seashell collection. Boys calm. The usual mayhem. 😊

1997: Gramma Elaine and George (nicknamed Colton, his middle name, then) cuddle and read together at our house in Avian Glen, Carmel, Indiana.

9/28/1997: Caption reads “Breakfast in bed for my 66th birthday while in Stavanger, Norway. Val knocked on door and to my great surprise and pleasure brought in a tray with waffles!!! (Elaine said don’t expect that to continue in States.)

July 1994: Zoe and Gramma in front of 1614 El Paso Street

2000: George Colton (6 years old)

2000 or 01: Inscription in journal reads: Zach is quite the musician & also quite good at soccer.

Jan. 2002: Maddie and Gramma Elaine

Inscription in journal reads: “Our future scientist! Look at those beautiful big eyes. Definitely Valerie. Pixie in her Holland dress.” (Sorry about markings; Dad wasn’t archival.) Pixie was Dad’s nickname for Zara, who became a nurse in 2021.

2006; Kailyn graduates from high school. 2024: She lives in Anderson, Indiana and works in retail.

2003, 14148 Edwards Circle, Carmel, Indiana: Kailyn, George (“Colton”), Kathleen, Terry and Madeline

2009: The Rossmans: Madeline Jean Soens , George Colton, and Kailyn Elaine Soens

2018: David, Zoe and Valerie. Wedding at Nestldown wedding venue, Los Gatos, California. Grandparents Ted and Elaine could not attend due to poor health, but David made a video of the ceremony for them.

2018: George Colton Rossman enters the military, like many family members before him, including his Papa Ted and Great-grandfather Howard. Ted was so surprised and pleased.

2018: Zara Lo, Zoe Beth and Zachry Tore Soens. Photo is from Zoe’s wedding to Jefferson Herbst de Cortina in California. 2024 update: Zara is a nurse in Washington State, Zoe is a software project manager, and Zach has a Ph.D. in science. Zoe and Jeff have three boys.

Madeline Jean graduates 2017 with her Master’s from Penn State (Ted’s undergraduate Alma mater) and begins her career at the University of Utah.