Rose Mae Skibo, Crystal Falls centenarian, dies at 100

Rose Mae Skibo’s 100 years reached across family, church and the local institutions that anchor Crystal Falls. She died June 11 at Aspirus Iron River Hospital at age 100, closing a life that began in Iron Mountain and stayed tied to Iron County for nearly a century.

Born March 6, 1926, to Peter and Victoria Bray Kania, Skibo grew up in Mansfield Township, a reminder of the rural roots that shaped much of the county’s early life. She married Matthew Skibo on Sept. 1, 1945, and carried that family name through decades of change in Crystal Falls. Matthew Skibo died in 2000, and Rose Skibo was also preceded in death by her son, James Matthew Skibo.

Her surviving family spans three generations of the Upper Peninsula and beyond. She is survived by daughters Mary Fran Bjork of Crystal Falls and Karen Ventura of Shoreview, Minnesota, along with daughter-in-law Becky Skibo of Madison, Wisconsin, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Those names trace the arc of one Iron County family from a local household into a wider network that still keeps Crystal Falls at its center.

The community will gather for her farewell on June 18. Visitation is set for 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home in Crystal Falls, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Guardian Angels Catholic Church. Father Dan Dapaah will officiate, and burial will take place later that day at Evergreen Cemetery in Crystal Falls.

The family asked that memorials go to Guardian Angels Church or the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry instead of flowers, a choice that points to the faith and service networks that have long shaped local remembrance. Guardian Angels’ St. Vincent de Paul ministry says it provides food baskets and help with medical and utility needs for people in basic need, and the Crystal Falls food pantry is listed at 11 N. Fifth St. It is open Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon, and can be reached at 906-874-0171.

In a town where family notices often serve as the record of civic memory, Skibo’s life stands as a century-length link between Mansfield Township, Guardian Angels, Evergreen Cemetery and the generations that will remember her.