Rosie Belle Fitch Goyne

Rosie Belle Fitch Goyne died peacefully at Mount Vernon Hospital on February 10, 2021.  She leaves her family and friends with so many happy memories; we are truly blessed to have known her passion for loving and caring for people, her kindness and generosity, her love of nature, and her love of God and family.

Rosie was born May 20, 1930, on a farm in Lavaca County, Texas, right near the Jackson County border.  Her father, Will Fitch, said she cost him a bushel of corn and 6 squirrels, because while the doctor was helping her mother, Alzada, give birth to sweet Rosie, the doctor’s son went hunting on their property and also picked a bushel of corn.  God gave Rosie three thumbs so that anyone and everyone in her lifetime would recognize her.

Rosie grew up and went to school in Lavaca County, TX.  When she graduated from Edna High School, her best friend signed her up for what she originally thought was vocational nursing school.  They both left their parents and their homes immediately after graduation to go to that nursing school.  In school, she was nicknamed “Petal” (Her name Rosie is like the petals on a rose).  While attending the nursing school, she interned as a Candy Striper in the hospital in Wharton, TX.  One of Rosie’s favorite stories from her time as a Candy Striper was when a pregnant woman who was in labor walked right through the Emergency Room door, yelled “I’m having this baby NOW!”  Rosie quickly reacted and caught the newborn baby just before it hit the concrete floor.

Rosie graduated from Wharton County nursing school in 1949 and utilized her talents caring for people as a nurse in Texas.  She was in her 70’s when she found out she had a college degree. Her small class of 20 nursing students was the first graduating class of Wharton College. The “vocational school” she attended after high school had grown to become Wharton College and she did not know she was a college graduate until she received an invitation to the 50-year class reunion years later.

Rosie met her future husband while he was fighting in World War II in Europe.  Walter V. Goyne’s foxhole buddy was Rosie Belle’s sisters’ husband, AT Shows.  AT would read out loud the letters his wife, Willie B, would write to him.  Walter enjoyed the letters so much he told AT “wouldn’t it be great if she had a little sister.”  So, Walter started writing to Rosie Belle.  Rosie was just 14 when she first received a letter from “a grown man in the Army” and was a bit shy and embarrassed.  She told her sister “I’ll not write him back!”  But sister Willie B said, “You WILL write him back or I’ll get a switch after you!”  So, Rosie and Walter wrote to each other.  Then one day (in Texas), when Rosie had her hair rolled up with coffee cans and was cleaning the house in old, ragged clothes, she saw a man walking down the street in a uniform towards her house.  OH NO!  She knew then it was Walter, and when he came in the front door, Rosie ran out the back door.  Her sister chased after her, and that was when she first saw her future husband, Walter V. Goyne.  They were married on September 2, 1950.  Rosie continued nursing until her first son was born in 1951.

Rosie was a faithful wife, wonderful friend, Mom, and Grandmom.  She and Walter lived in Houston, Texas for eight years, then moved to Virginia when Walter’s government job transferred him to Washington, D.C. in 1965.  While her husband worked and her three children were in school, Rosie learned to drive an automobile before turning 40, so she could transport the needy to medical appointments as a volunteer driver.

She loved to be outside working in the yard or enjoying the sunshine while her husband went fishing.  Her love for flowers led her to join the Chrysanthemum Society and each Spring, people would drive by to see the abundance of blooming azaleas and gorgeous flowers displayed in her yard at her home in McLean, Virginia.  At 78 years old, she would still cut the grass with a push mower on the 5+ acre church yard in McLean, VA and she maintained the church grounds beautifully.  She was very active and she was very strong (both mentally and physically).

Rosie was a strong, determined, faithful woman.  Even though her legs were riddled with arthritis, she never complained. Undoubtedly that’s due to her great faith in our Father in Heaven.  Rosie had a ton of ingenuity and ability.  There was nothing she could not figure out how to do, it may not have been the “book” way to do it but she has always been able to figure out some of the most complicated issues.  She created the most beautiful flower arrangements and she had the unique ability to see beauty in places no one else would notice.  She also enjoyed genealogy.  She organized and created books and books on her and her husband’s family history.

When she went to Texas to family reunions, everyone knew who she was, and if they did not recognize her right off, she would show them her double thumb and they immediately remembered who she was.  Being born with three thumbs, it was always difficult for her to cut with scissors or bowl at a bowling alley with her right hand (her thumb on her dominant hand would not fit in the drilled holes of the bowling ball).  This helped her to become very coordinated with both hands.

Rosie was very family oriented.  She and Walter had two sons and one daughter, two grandsons and one granddaughter, and four great-granddaughters.  Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren called her Mammaw.

Rosie is preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, Walter V. Goyne; parents Will and Alzada Fitch; and sister Willie B. Shows.  Rosie is survived by her cherished children, Vernon Ray (Arian) Goyne, Walter Douglas (Cathy) Goyne, and Tina G. (Dennis) Mitchell.  She is also survived by her beloved grandchildren, Robert (Christal) Mitchell, Mark (Erika) Mitchell, Gabrielle Dawson, and her four great-granddaughters: Vanessa, Lisa, Abigail, and Natalie Mitchell.

Rosie had the most beautiful blue eyes, of which we cannot see today.  Her daughter remarked about how she would love to see the world through Rosie’s eyes because she always saw the best in people.  Rosie has just moved away; she is absent from the body, but she is present with the Lord.

“In this world you will have troubles, but take heart! I have overcome the world. You can find peace in Me.”

Rosie is at peace now.

Viewing will be at Mountcastle Turch Funeral Home, 4143 Dale Blvd., Dale City, VA 22193 on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at 4 PM with a service honoring Rosie Belle Fitch Goyne at 5 PM. A 15-minute Interment service will be held at 2 PM at Quantico National Cemetery located at 18424 Joplin Rd, Triangle, VA 22172 on Monday, February 22, 2021.

Mountcastle Turch Funeral Home will be practicing federal mandated safety measures to maintain a safe environment for all attendees.  Standard COVID precautions will be adhered to, to include social distancing and wearing of masks.