Rosella “Rose” Burks (nee Pelican)

LINCOLN, Neb. — Rosella “Rose” Burks (nee Pelican), 82, passed away peacefully Dec. 15, 2019.
She was born Oct. 17, 1937, in Wilber, Nebraska, the official “Czech Capital of the USA,” and her life was enriched by growing up with this strong Czech heritage.
She is survived by her two daughters, Robin and Rita, and their families: Rita and Tom Trimble, Tyler (Ann Keane), Tory (Brian Sambecki), all of the Columbus area; Robin Burks and Fred Ames, Jessie and Travis, all of Houston, Texas. She also is survived by her sister, Lyn Painter, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Lyn’s family: Brad (Tammie), Shannon (Jesse), and Todd (Tammy), and their children; her sister-in-law, Melva Pelican, Corpus Christi, Texas, and her daughters Carol and Judy.
She was preceded in death by her former husband, Dave Burks; parents, Otto and Ella Pelican; brother, Otto Pelican, Jr.; infant brother, Marvin Pelican; brother-in-law, Bud Painter; and nieces Donna and Wanda Pelican.
Rose had a sharp intellect and a fine-tuned quick-witted sense of humor. In her heyday she could take dictation at 80 words per minute. She read aloud endlessly to her daughters when we were kids and instilled in us a love of libraries, reading and learning. She taught us how to have fun even when we had very little money — right in our own backyard: blowing soap bubbles, playing in the sandbox, making necklaces from dandelion stems and turning other stems into curlicues by submerging them in water.
She also was a loving archivist of our childhoods, keeping meticulous records and mementoes from our school years. When we were young, she always worked, but usually at night or part-time during school hours. That money bought us new school clothes, tap dance lessons, piano lessons and more.
As circumstances would have it, she ended up living quite a distance from both her daughters and didn’t see her grandchildren nearly as often as she would’ve liked. Nevertheless, as they were growing up, she read to them, went to parks and played in their sandboxes with them whenever she could. More importantly, her loving example inspired her daughters’ own approaches to mothering and in that way she was ever present in all their lives. And as long as she was able, she stayed in touch faithfully through her friendly letters, sweet greeting cards and phone calls.
Rose dealt with difficult mental health issues most of her adult life. It wasn’t likely apparent to many. But those closest to her knew that sometimes she suffered unspeakably. Fighting those battles took an incredible amount of bravery and stamina. We raise this in order to give testimony to the tenacity and the incredible strength of spirit it often took just to continue to be her bright, kind-hearted, feisty, stubborn self. We also hope to raise awareness and empathy for all who bravely deal with mental and emotional health issues every day either themselves or with those they love.
The family is ever grateful for the caring staff at Victorian Assisted Living, Ambassador Health and the compassionate care from the HoriSun Hospice team.
Services are planned for the end of June 2020, at Roper & Sons Funeral Home, 4300 ‘O’ St., Lincoln, NE, 68510. Service details will be determined closer to this time.
Memorial contributions may be made to either of the following: NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), 3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 or HoriSun Hospice Community Foundation, 2200 S. 40th St., Suite 101, Lincoln, NE 68506.