CAROLINE (RISING PETERS) ROCKWOOD

CAROLINE RISING PETERS ROCKWOOD, died February 18, 2020, in Lancaster, Ohio, about 4 months short of her 100th birthday.

She was born June 13, 1920, in Columbus to Philip Rising and Dorothy Whiley Peters.

She attended the North School (Lancaster); Columbus School for Girls (Columbus);The Bishop’s Lodge (Santa Fe, New Mexico); graduated from The Ethel Walker School (Simsbury, Connecticut); attended Bennett Junior College (Millbrook, New York); and Mills College (Oakland, California).

On May 8, 1943, she married Ralph Kanouse Rockwood, Jr., of Winnetka, Illinois. They lived just outside Lancaster on a farm built by her great-grandparents, Zebulon and Mary Ann Beck Peters.

She was a participant in many organizations throughout her life, but she initiated three in particular: she founded the volunteer nurses’ aide program at the Lancaster Hospital during World War II.; she was the last surviving founding member of the Fairfield Heritage Association; and she began and sustained the effort to create an appropriate public/community use for her father’s family house, first leading and then, with the support of her siblings as well as many community members, bringing the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio to life. She took great pride in the organization it is today.

She is survived by her children: Dorothy Rockwood Mitchell (Robert John Mitchell); Peter Kanouse Rockwood (Deborah Banks Rockwood); Philip Peters Rockwood; John House Rockwood; (Cara Louise Rockwood); and her daughter-in-law, Margaret Lowe Rockwood.

9 Grandchildren: Caroline Morrissey Mitchell (William Edward Hobbs); Robert Rockwood Mitchell (Colleen Carver Mitchell); Anne Titus Rockwood (Joseph David Goldberg); William Peters Rockwood (Elizabeth Ann Rockwood); Charlotte Mae Rockwood (Anthony George Filiberti); Robert Cotton Rockwood (Stacy Rockwood); Maxwell Cade Rockwood; Tyler Rising Rockwood; Sophia Whiley Rockwood.

11 Great-Grandchildren: Owen John Hobbs; Calvin Carver Mitchell; Oliver Rockwood Mitchell; Willow Avery Mitchell; Norah Caroline Goldberg; Samuel Rockwood Goldberg; Jayse Harlan Rockwood; Brooklyn Elizabeth Rockwood; Leopold David Rockwood Filiberti; Lucia Jane Rockwood Filiberti; Gavin Rockwood, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, she is predeceased by: her son, David Bruce Rockwood; her parents; her siblings, Mary Peters Bolton; Philip Rising Peters, Jr.; Henry Charles Peters; her great-granddaughter, Stella Ann Mitchell; her nephew, Henry Chase Peters (Zeb).

Caroline Rising Peters Rockwood

The celebration of life for Caroline Rising Peters Rockwood, who died on February 18, 2020, has been postponed. It was to be held on May 2, 2020 at The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio from 4:30 - 6:30 pm.

Governor DeWine has recommended that large indoor gatherings in Ohio be canceled or postponed due to the potential for coronavirus (COVID-19) exposure.  With an abundance of caution for family and friends, her celebration will be rescheduled at a future date.

Anyone wishing to honor her community work, her love of family, history, the decorative arts and music, may give to:

The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, 145 E. Main St., Lancaster, OH 43130.

The LancasterChorale, 109 N. Broad St., Suite 100, Lancaster, OH 43130.

The Fairfield County Heritage Association, 105 E. Wheeling St., Lancaster, OH 43130