Rose Marie Robison

Rose Marie Robison passed peacefully at her Ridgefield home on February 12, 2026. Born in Chicago Illinois on August 2, 1930, to John Setzer and Julia (Ekes) Setzer, Rose Marie Setzer was the second of four Setzer children. In 1946 the family moved to Renton. Rose graduated from Renton High School in 1948. Rose earned her RN from Emmanual Hospital School of Nursing in Portland in 1951. In 1952 Rose married George C. Robison then a student at Multnomah School of the Bible. Their marriage produced 7 children. Gerald, their first child, was born in Portland.. George then went to work for Boeing and the family moved back to Renton where Kathleen, William, Matthew, Dale, Edward and James were born.

Rose continued to work as a Registered Nurse and as a reporter for the local newspaper. In 1964, looking for more challenging work, Rose started at Overlake Memorial Hospital in Bellevue WA. During Rose's 20 plus years at Overlake the facility grew into a major regional trauma center, Rose stayed on the cutting edge of the critical care revolution.

Rose and George separated in 1965, the divorce was final in 1969. George lives in Gig Harbor Washington.

Raising 7 children by herself was a challenge Rose was fit to take on. In those days a single woman couldn't get credit without a man's signature. Almost all nurses were women, they were viewed as charity workers and expected to accept poor compensation. When nurses began demanding a living wage commensurate with their training, skills and dedication, management pushed back. Rose became a founding member of the Washington State Nurses Association. While the republican Seattle Times excoriated nurses as forsaking their care obligations for even considering that they deserved fair compensation, and far worse, going on strike to demand it, Rose and her youngest son walked the picket line. Rose remained active in politics for the rest of her life.

Rose loved reading, solving puzzles and listening to, watching and playing baseball. She could almost field an entire team, so it was easy to get a game of workup going. Rose also loved camping, loading up the entire family, sometimes in a car way too small, to seek outdoor adventures. Working full-time in the expanding Intensive Care Unit at Overlake while raising 7 children, Rose earned her Bachelor's Degree in Public Affairs and Master's Degree in Health Care Administration.

Rose retired from Overlake in 1986. Through 1998 Rose worked as a traveling nurse in Hawaii, California, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, New York, and Canada. After retiring Rose was active in Toastmasters International, volunteered at PCA, the Schnitzer Center and was an ombudsman for residents of senior care facilities: https://tinyurl.com/5n7vpnbz

Rose is survived by her 6 sons, 17 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren, 1 great great grandchild and many, many friends.