Rosemary Karen Brahana

Rosemary Karen Tourney Brahana, age 79, of Fayetteville passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 1, 2022 at her home in Fayetteville. Her husband and sons were by her side, having served as caregivers throughout the three months of her illness. Her final weeks were also supported by Circle of Life Hospice, a loving group who facilitated a pain-free quality to her final days.

 Rosemary was born on November 29, 1942, in Quincy, IL, the daughter of the late Dr. Guy Tourney and Mary Buffum Tourney. Theirs was a loving and supportive home, and it provided her with a caring and compassionate nature that she retained throughout her life.  After attending Mills College in Oakland, CA, she transferred and graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in Biology, teaching for 5 years in Belleville, IL and Columbia, MO high schools. In 1966 she married the love of her life, Van Brahana, and they shared almost 56 years together. Two sons, Todd and Matthew, were the joys of their life. During the boy’s preschool years, Rosemary shifted her focus to becoming a stay-at-home mom, nurturing, loving, and teaching them lessons essential to becoming genuinely good people.  After both boys were in school, she returned to train as a Medical Technologist, refocusing her biology background to microbiology.  This provided a career with labs at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, TN and Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, AR. She retired in 2008.

In retirement, her love of family, nature, reading, walking, classical music, and travel allowed more time for realization of these.  Her empathy and caring for all living things led to sharing her resources in numerous philanthropic endeavors.

Rosemary is survived by her husband, Van; her sons and their wives,  Todd and Kara Brahana and Matthew and Sara Brahana; 5 grandchildren, Collin, Isabelle, Elise, Ethan and William; a sister, Elinor Merideth; a sister-in-law, Mary Ann Graham; and 2 grand-dogs, all who loved her dearly and held her in the highest esteem.   Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents. Per her wishes, cremation rites were chosen and entrusted to Backstrom-Pyeatte Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life will be held in early April 2023, a time dear to her heart when the cycle of life on earth begins anew. Details of Rosemary’s Celebration of Life will be available on the  Backstrom-Pyeatte website (www.backstrom-pyeatte.com) when they are finalized. An online guestbook now is available for your personal messages at the same location.  In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to your favorite charity.

There will be an informal gathering from 2 - 4 PM, on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at The Clubhouse at the Pines at Springwoods, 2353 W Pinehills Dr., Fayetteville, AR 72704, to visit and reminisce about the smart, compassioinate, beautiful, funny, amazing woman we were blessed to have known. For further information contact Van at; brahana@uark.edu