Rosanne was a delicate, premature baby, weighing only four pounds at birth. When she was only six months old, a bout of pneumonia caused her temperature to shoot up so high that she went into convulsions which destroyed most of the optic nerve in each eye. Consequently, she suffered a permanent 80% loss of vision, an affliction commonly referred to as "legally blind".
In the late 1940s, after years of struggling in the public school system, Rosanne entered the Texas School for the Blind in Austin. Rosanne, along with the other students, were taught all the necessary academic subjects required in any Texas public school system, but was also taught not to accept the vision loss as a handicap. Many of the students excelled in a variety of pursuits ranging from gymnastics, to music instrumentation and other fine arts. Rosanne stood out for her vocal ability.
After graduating in 1951, Rosanne studied business courses at Bish-Mathis Institute in Longview, Texas. For about 20 years, she operated retail businesses in the Texas cities of Texarkana and Tyler in partnership with the Texas Commission for the Blind.
Possessing a fine, clear soprano singing voice and, being a devout Christian, Rosanne's greatest pleasures were in Bible study and singing praises to the Lord in the choirs of her churches, most significantly at the First United Methodist Church and, later, the First Baptist Church, both in Marshall, Texas, the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and the church she held membership in during the final years of her life, the Elwood Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida.
At Rosanne's burial service, as a recording of the soaring voices of British soprano Sarah Brightman and blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang "Con Te Partiro" ("It's Time to Say Goodbye"), Rosanne's sister, Betty Henderson, led those in attendance in a release of five dozen monarch butterflies, flown in from south Florida that morning. The lovely creatures were expected to propagate, hopefully forever, providing a living memorial to the life of Rosanne Arnold.
In the late 1940s, after years of struggling in the public school system, Rosanne entered the Texas School for the Blind in Austin. Rosanne, along with the other students, were taught all the necessary academic subjects required in any Texas public school system, but was also taught not to accept the vision loss as a handicap. Many of the students excelled in a variety of pursuits ranging from gymnastics, to music instrumentation and other fine arts. Rosanne stood out for her vocal ability.
After graduating in 1951, Rosanne studied business courses at Bish-Mathis Institute in Longview, Texas. For about 20 years, she operated retail businesses in the Texas cities of Texarkana and Tyler in partnership with the Texas Commission for the Blind.
Possessing a fine, clear soprano singing voice and, being a devout Christian, Rosanne's greatest pleasures were in Bible study and singing praises to the Lord in the choirs of her churches, most significantly at the First United Methodist Church and, later, the First Baptist Church, both in Marshall, Texas, the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and the church she held membership in during the final years of her life, the Elwood Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida.
At Rosanne's burial service, as a recording of the soaring voices of British soprano Sarah Brightman and blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang "Con Te Partiro" ("It's Time to Say Goodbye"), Rosanne's sister, Betty Henderson, led those in attendance in a release of five dozen monarch butterflies, flown in from south Florida that morning. The lovely creatures were expected to propagate, hopefully forever, providing a living memorial to the life of Rosanne Arnold.
Rosanne was a delicate, premature baby, weighing only four pounds at birth. When she was only six months old, a bout of pneumonia caused her temperature to shoot up so high that she went into convulsions which destroyed most of the optic nerve in each eye. Consequently, she suffered a permanent 80% loss of vision, an affliction commonly referred to as "legally blind".
In the late 1940s, after years of struggling in the public school system, Rosanne entered the Texas School for the Blind in Austin. Rosanne, along with the other students, were taught all the necessary academic subjects required in any Texas public school system, but was also taught not to accept the vision loss as a handicap. Many of the students excelled in a variety of pursuits ranging from gymnastics, to music instrumentation and other fine arts. Rosanne stood out for her vocal ability.
After graduating in 1951, Rosanne studied business courses at Bish-Mathis Institute in Longview, Texas. For about 20 years, she operated retail businesses in the Texas cities of Texarkana and Tyler in partnership with the Texas Commission for the Blind.
Possessing a fine, clear soprano singing voice and, being a devout Christian, Rosanne's greatest pleasures were in Bible study and singing praises to the Lord in the choirs of her churches, most significantly at the First United Methodist Church and, later, the First Baptist Church, both in Marshall, Texas, the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and the church she held membership in during the final years of her life, the Elwood Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida.
At Rosanne's burial service, as a recording of the soaring voices of British soprano Sarah Brightman and blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang "Con Te Partiro" ("It's Time to Say Goodbye"), Rosanne's sister, Betty Henderson, led those in attendance in a release of five dozen monarch butterflies, flown in from south Florida that morning. The lovely creatures were expected to propagate, hopefully forever, providing a living memorial to the life of Rosanne Arnold.
In the late 1940s, after years of struggling in the public school system, Rosanne entered the Texas School for the Blind in Austin. Rosanne, along with the other students, were taught all the necessary academic subjects required in any Texas public school system, but was also taught not to accept the vision loss as a handicap. Many of the students excelled in a variety of pursuits ranging from gymnastics, to music instrumentation and other fine arts. Rosanne stood out for her vocal ability.
After graduating in 1951, Rosanne studied business courses at Bish-Mathis Institute in Longview, Texas. For about 20 years, she operated retail businesses in the Texas cities of Texarkana and Tyler in partnership with the Texas Commission for the Blind.
Possessing a fine, clear soprano singing voice and, being a devout Christian, Rosanne's greatest pleasures were in Bible study and singing praises to the Lord in the choirs of her churches, most significantly at the First United Methodist Church and, later, the First Baptist Church, both in Marshall, Texas, the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and the church she held membership in during the final years of her life, the Elwood Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida.
At Rosanne's burial service, as a recording of the soaring voices of British soprano Sarah Brightman and blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang "Con Te Partiro" ("It's Time to Say Goodbye"), Rosanne's sister, Betty Henderson, led those in attendance in a release of five dozen monarch butterflies, flown in from south Florida that morning. The lovely creatures were expected to propagate, hopefully forever, providing a living memorial to the life of Rosanne Arnold.
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