Rosemary Phelps Obituary

On February 23, 2023 Rosemary Sanders Phelps passed peacefully from this world into the loving arms of her Savior and Lord. She was born on June 2, 1947 in Kingsport Tennessee, to Manuel and Dorothy Sanders. Rosemary was a strong woman of faith and loved by many. She grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and was a 1965 graduate of Dobyns Bennett High School. Rosemary then attended and graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1969, where she met her lifelong love, Thomas Phelps. They lived in Kingsport briefly, but eventually settled in Huntingtown, Maryland. Rosemary taught school for 33 years. First, at Central High School in Blountville, Tennessee; then Calvert Middle School in Prince Frederick Maryland; and finally, Northern High School in Owings, Maryland. She loved teaching her students and always spoke fondly of them. Rosemary's prayer was always for her students to see Jesus in her, and in doing so, she lived out her faith in all she did. She was a charter member of Bayside Baptist Church in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland where she taught Sunday School for many years. Her favorite verses include Philippians 4:6-7; John 16:33; Proverbs 3:5-6; and Isaiah 40:29-31. The only thing she loved more than her students was her family and especially her husband, children, and grandchildren. Rosemary is survived by her husband of 53 years Thomas Phelps; her three children Mary Susan and husband Chris Roorda; Tom Phelps and wife Karen; Ben Phelps and wife Mary; her six grandchildren: Clara, Andrew, Jacob, Hannah, Lily and Thomas; her brother Burl McCosh and his wife Shelly; and numerous extended family in Maryland, Georgia, and Tennessee. A service will be held at Bayside Baptist Church in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland on March 1, 2023 at 11 am. A service will be held in Kingsport, Tennessee on March 4, 2023 at 11 am, where she will be laid to rest at East Lawn Memorial Park in Kingsport, Tennessee. The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Rosemary's name.