February 18, 1931 – March 1, 2026
Miriam Rose Rogness, age 95, of Forest City, IA, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 1, 2026 at the Manly Specialty Care Nursing Home.
A visitation for Miriam will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on Thursday, March 12, 2026 at Schott Funeral Homes in Forest City, IA.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, March 13, 2026 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City, IA, with Pastor Rod Hopp officiating. A time for visitation will also begin at 9:30 that morning. If you are unable to attend, the service will be livestreamed on the Immanuel Lutheran Church YouTube page at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/@immanuelfamily3825
Private family inurnment will occur at a later date at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City, IA.
Miriam Rose (Byro) Rogness was born February 18, 1931 on a farm in Eagle Grove Township, Wright County, Iowa, child of Orin T. Byro and Gladys M. (Christeson) Byro. She was baptized and confirmed at Eagle Grove Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Miriam attended High School at Eagle Grove, Iowa. She attended Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She taught country school around Corwith, Iowa and 4th grade in Forest City, Iowa. She resumed classes from Mankato State University and achieved a B.A. in Special Education.
She married Martin Curtis Rogness on June 4, 1955 at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Eagle Grove, Iowa. They moved into the farmstead in Miller, Iowa. Martin and Miriam raised 3 sons, Mark, Kurt and Bruce. They moved to Forest City in November of 1970.
She worked at Stitchcraft in Forest City for over 30 years. She was active in Faith Lutheran ELCA in Miller, Iowa and Immanuel Lutheran ELCA in Forest City, especially in choirs, but also in Circle.
Miriam and Martin enjoyed vacations in West and East Germany, Austria, and Norway. Highlights of these trips were attending the Oberammergau Passion Play and the Southwest Coast of Norway where numerous ancestors lived and visited living relatives in Norway.
Miriam was quite involved with several family reunions and assembled a formidable genealogy database and Martin and Miriam attended various “Lags” involving genealogy of various regions of Norway.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and her siblings, Evelyn Christine Byro, Dorcas Dorow, Paul Byro and Kenneth Byro. She is the end of an era.
She is survived by three sons, Mark Rogness of Forest City, IA, Kurt (Judy) Rogness of Marengo, IA and Bruce Rogness of Lake Mills, IA; a grandson, Edward (Sarah) Rogness of Williamsburg, IA; a granddaughter, Malenda (Jordan) Folkmann of Williamsburg, IA; and great-grandchildren, Brealynn Jade Rogness and Peyton Leoni Rogness and Millie Mae Folkmann, Jaylyn Ann Folkmann and Mason Ronald Folkmann. There are numerous nieces and nephews.
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