Temperance postmaster among 1st women in job

8/25/2007

TEMPERANCE - Rosella B. "Rosy" Moyer, 94, who served as Temperance postmaster for about 20 years and was one of the first women to hold such a position, died Monday in her home here.

The family did not know the exact cause of death, Marjorie Dixon, her daughter, said.

Born in Toledo, Mrs. Moyer was the youngest of the four children of the late Albert and Laura Poland. She graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1932 and that same year married Ellsworth "Dick" Moyer.

The couple moved to Mr. Moyer's native Temperance. In 1937 he began work as a barber there, and Mrs. Moyer became a clerk in the former U.S. Postal Service's Temperance branch. She became Temperance's acting postmaster after the man in the position went to serve in the U.S. Navy. She was named to the position permanently in 1947, her daughter said.

She knew of only a handful of female postmasters in the region when she took the job, and had met most of them through postmaster conventions, Ms. Dixon said.

While Mrs. Moyer was responsible for nearly every facet of the office's day-to-day operations, she still considered no job too small for her attention.

"She just did everything, plus she sorted mail," her daughter said. "She did a lot for her workers, and they were all friends. In the day they worked together, and at night they might go Christmas shopping together."

The post office changed locations several times during Mrs. Moyer's tenure, and at one point she and the branch were practically neighbors.

"She walked out her door and walked in the back door of the post office," Ms. Dixon said.

Mrs. Moyer became a mentor to a younger female employee in the office, the late Mae Joly. When Mrs. Moyer retired in December, 1968, Ms. Joly succeeded her as postmaster.

After her retirement, Mrs. Moyer and her husband moved to Barton City, Mich., where she often went deer hunting with the male members of her family, her daughter said. She also enjoyed such hobbies as ceramics, gardening, and knitting afghans.

Mrs. Moyer moved back to Temperance in 1987, four years after her husband's death.

She was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Temperance; the National Association of Postmasters of the United States; the Bedford Historical Society, and the Bedford Senior Center.

Surviving are her daughter, Marjorie Dixon; six grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 11 a.m. today in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. The Bedford Funeral Chapel, Temperance, is handling arrangements.

The family suggests tributes to the Bedford Senior Center or Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.