Rosemarr Burtenshaw Greathouse

Rosemarr Burtenshaw Greathouse, 82, passed away peacefully on March 9, 2023, surrounded by her husband and all five of her children.  She was the daughter of Georgan Hurst and Horace Ralph Burtenshaw, and was the oldest of six children.  She was born in Woodland, California on May 29, 1940.

When she was two years old, she moved with her parents to Salt Lake City, Utah then to Blanding, Utah a year later. Rosemarr had a severe case of measles which nearly took her life at age two, resulting in bronchial pneumonia, and at age three nearly died.  Several more attacks of pneumonia resulted in rheumatic fever and she was practically bedfast from age four to five.  During her illnesses, she received many priesthood blessings which she feels spared her life.

While living in Blanding, she went to school and graduated from San Juan High school as Valedictorian in 1958.  She attended Brigham Young University on a leadership scholarship where she pursued an art history major and music minor.  At BYU, she met Hugh Erie Greathouse in her university ward.  Although they began as friends, while he was playing drums in a dance band, she sang Gerschwin’s “Summertime,” and he was smitten and convinced he would marry her.  They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on September 1, 1961.

While continuing their studies at BYU, she had her first two children, MarrLin and Dawnelle.  They moved to Guadalajara, Mexico for Hugh’s medical school studies for four years, and Erica, their third daughter was born there during their stay. 

Arcadia, California was the next place they would call home.  They lived there for 34 years and welcomed their last two children, Jonathan and Patricia.  While living there, she was active in her children’s school and extra-curricular functions, church responsibilities, and Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.

After reaching retirement age, she and Hugh relocated to Carbondale, Colorado in the beautiful Roaring Fork Valley.  They loved taking car rides to look at the fall leaves and exploring the beautiful area surrounding their home.  On a few occasions they even rode their ATV tandem up to the Crystal Mill.  She enjoyed bird watching, taking her art classes, and receiving frequent visits from family throughout the year.

In Fall 2022, they once again pulled up their roots and moved to North Ogden, Utah to a beautiful home that in many ways reminded her of her home in Colorado. They downsized to a close-knit, retirement community where she made instant friendships and lasting family memories which brought her joy beyond measure.

Rosemarr was blessed with many talents in her life, and always used those talents to serve and enrich the lives of her family and everyone around her.  Rosemarr has been involved in music all her life, either singing, directing, composing, or playing the piano and organ.  She began piano lessons at age six and composing songs at age eight.  She belonged to the BYU A Capella choir for two years and was a member of Southern California Mormon Choir for over 2 years.  She continually blessed her family and the members of her congregations with her musical talents.  From the constant presence of music in her home, she instilled a profound love for it in all her posterity.

Rosemarr was also an accomplished artist.  Her love for art was inspired by her father, a self-taught commercial artist who started her drawing at age seven, along with her siblings, every Thursday night.  She worked in oils, clay, water color, Pastels, charcoal, pen and ink and even colored pencils. She was always making personalized cards and artwork for those she loved and continued that throughout her life.

In addition to music and art, she also had a love for poetry and wrote beautiful poems to her family members.  Many of her poems were published in the latter part of her life. Some of her works won awards for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry.

Rosemarr’s greatest joy and achievement in life was her family.  She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.  She always gave everything, and never expected anything in return.  She was the radiance and light in the lives of all who knew and loved her. 

In recent years, Rosemarr endured numerous physical trials, but remained positive and determined through them all.  As a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she inspires everyone with her optimism, selflessness, and Christlike example. 

Rosemarr is survived by her husband, Hugh Erie Greathouse; their five children, MarrLin Angus (David), Dawnelle Linn (Ronald), Erica Bauer (Kenneth), Jonathan Greathouse (Rachel), Patricia Esteban Gomez (Abel); 17 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at the LDS Stake Center located at 770 E 2100 N, in North Ogden, Utah.  Friends may visit with family Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the church.

Interment, Lindquist’s Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, 1718 Combe Rd., South Ogden, Utah.

Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.

Services will be live-streamed and may be viewed by to scrolling to the bottom of Rosemarr's obituary page at www.lindquistmortuary.com.

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