Laura M. Rowett

Laura Jeanette Moler Rowett joined her husband in the presence of the Lord on October 29, 2025. She was born on January 30, 1933 to Frederic Wishart Moler and Elsie Large Moler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the eldest of four siblings. She was known as “Jean” by everyone for her entire life.

After graduating from Pittsburgh’s South Hills High School, Jean studied a visual arts curriculum at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as Carnegie-Mellon University). She later transferred to Nyack College, in Nyack, New York, affiliated with the Christian & Missionary Alliance, her church denominational home for most of her life. There, she completed her college education and met her future husband, Thomas Richard Rowett.

Jean and Tom were married on October 18, 1952 at the North Side Alliance Church (now known as Allegheny Center Alliance Church) in Pittsburgh.

Jean was a steadfast partner with Tom on his pastoral ministries at Alliance churches located in several Western Pennsylvania communities, including Kitanning, Connellsville, Sterrettania and Meridian, then in Charlottesville, Virginia and Greensboro, North Carolina. They returned to Western PA, and served in Aliquippa, then Sharon. At each of these churches, Jean played a vital role in the churches’ programs, calling on her extraordinary talents in both visual and musical arts. At various times, she served as church pianist, organist and choir director, leading weekly choral presentations during worship as well as directing Easter and Christmas cantatas. At times, she also served as a Sunday School teacher and superintendent.

Occasionally, Jean presented “chalk talks” in which she created pictures using colored chalks on large sheets of paper, accompanied by scripture readings or vocal solos by Tom. Congregations were fascinated as the sketch suddenly became a complete picture at the last moment.

In addition to her other church ministries, Jean was active in Women’s Missionary Prayer Fellowship (now known as Alliance Women) the denomination’s ministry by and for women, with chapters in each local congregation. She was elected as director of WMPF’s Western PA District, which afforded her the opportunity to tour Alliance missions operations across South America, where she was able to speak with locals in Spanish. Jean also led women’s activities at the denomination’s global conventions.

When Jean wasn’t busy with church work, she was busy creating something at home. An accomplished seamstress, she made most of her own clothing as well as garments for her family. She also sewed furnishings for the family home, including curtains, draperies, tablecloths and more.

Jean also enjoyed cooking and baking, frequently trying new recipes from her sizable collection of cookbooks that filled an entire bookcase. Jean’s table was always a dining event. No matter how casual the meal or humble the fare, the table was always dressed with complete place settings and every course was offered in the appropriate serving vessel. With the exception of the occasional casserole, cookware never made an appearance at Jean’s table, nor was anyone allowed to serve themselves from the stove. And there was always dessert after every meal.

Tom’s pastoral career culminated at Chapel Pointe, a retirement and elder care community in Carlisle, PA, and Jean joined him there as director of the social and activity programs for the community of residents. She spearheaded the creation of a craft and activities room on the Chapel Pointe campus where residents could socialize as they worked on various craft projects and other activities.

Jean and Tom enjoyed their home in the Kingsbrook neighborhood of Carlisle, where they made lasting friendships with their neighbors, Debbie Stein, Betty Witmer, Glenna Tripp and others. Jean was a friend’s friend, forming friendships that endured for more than half a century, especially Roslyn Dixon of Grove City, PA, Christine Bell and Shirley Dean of Aliquippa, PA, and Wilma Young of West Sunbury, PA. In fact, Jean was a “walking phone directory,” able to recite from memory the phone numbers of all the people she knew.

When Tom retired from Chapel Pointe, Jean also left her position there, but she didn’t retire. Instead, she joined the staff at Carlisle’s Hamilton Elementary School, where she was a paraprofessional who helped First and Second Graders struggling with “new math” or behavioral issues, giving them love and encouragement until she officially retired at age 83. She especially enjoyed working with First Grade teacher, Alex Cashman.

Jean’s years at Hamilton weren’t her first stint in teaching. She was an expert swimmer and taught swimming and handcraft classes at a local YMCA in the 1960s. Later, she directed a church-owned preschool, where she created a developmental curriculum for children aged 1 to 6. It is said that you can’t stop a teacher from teaching, and Jean was no exception. Even after her official retirement, she organized ESL classes in conjunction with her church and helped adult students from Iraq and several South American countries become conversant in English.

Jean also applied her teaching skills to the canines who joined the Rowett family. She was partial to long-haired Collies, and over the years, taught Caesar, Royal, Night Train and Dakota the five basic obedience commands. Depending on the dogs’ temperaments and aptitudes, Jean taught them to perform additional “tricks,” including singing and solving simple math problems. The dogs were just part of the menagerie that revolved through the household, from guinea pigs to tropical fish to cage birds to Bantam poultry to ponies to a white cat to a black Suffolk lamb rejected by his mother. This prompted her to declare, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be standing over the stove at three in the morning, warming a bottle for a sheep!”

Left to cherish Jean's memory are her brothers and their families, Bruce, James and Frederic; her son, Dale Thomas Rowett, daughter, Cynthia Jean Rowett Poe and her husband, Timothy Poe, their children and grandchildren: Ryan Poe and his wife, Ashley, and their sons, Mason and Everett; Sara Poe Markham and her husband, David Markham, and their children, Mia and Zachary; Justin Poe and his wife, DeAnn, and their sons, Asher and Isaac; Brandon Poe and his wife, Natalie, and their children, Felicity and Lincoln; Laura Poe Edodoleon and her husband, Ervin Edodoleon, and two children on the way.

Jean’s family is grateful for the kindness and generosity of the Bittinger family, Art and Betsy, and especially their son, Brian, and his wife, Jaime, who cared for Jean as a member of their own family during the final chapters of her life. The family also expresses appreciation to the staff at Chapel Pointe, especially Michelle Shaffer, who provided extraordinary care during Jean’s final months.

On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, a celebration of Jean Rowett’s life will be held at 11:00 AM, at Hoffman Funeral Home, 2020 W. Trindle Rd., Carlisle, PA 17013. A reception luncheon will follow at Carlisle First Church of God, 705 Glendale St., Carlisle, PA 17013. Individuals who wish to honor Jean Rowett by making a charitable donation in lieu of flowers are invited to donate to the following;

Carlisle First Church of God, 705 Glendale St., Carlisle, PA 17013, carlislecog.org

Chapel Pointe, 770 South Hanover Street, Carlisle, PA 17013, chapelpointe.org

Christian & Missionary Alliance Missions, One Alliance Place, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068, secure.cmalliance.org/give/

Rejoice in the Lord, Pensacola Christian College, P.O. Box 18000, Pensacola, FL 32523 www.rejoicetv.org/donate/