Rosalee Sly Seymour passed peacefully on March 8, 2026. She was born May 30, 1931 to John F. and Lorene Penny Sly in St. Joseph, MO and grew up with her sister, Janet, in Fairfax, MO. She graduated from Fairfax High School in 1949 and attended Lindenwood College in St. Charles, MO.
Rosalee married Blaine Seymour in 1951, and they raised three boys in Tarkio, MO, where she lived most of her life until moving to Kansas City a few years ago.
Throughout her life, Rosalee helped manage family farms near Tarkio, MO, including Sly Fox Farm that she owned with her sister. She and Blaine also owned Sly Lumberyard in Fairfax for 15 years. She was president of the Tarkio PEO, a philanthropic organization that supports women’s education at Cottey College. She also taught Sunday School at Fairfax Presbyterian Church and Tarkio Presbyterian Church, where she volunteered and sang in the choir. She enjoyed her bridge and dinner clubs.
Rosalee was known to friends and family for her kindness, her incredible baked goods, peanut brittle Christmas packages, her love of animals and an unbelievable daylily flower garden. Inspired by her mother, she began planting daylilies in the 1970s and had more than 1,000 plants and 200 varieties. She was president of the Tarkio Garden Club and a member for more than 25 years.
Rosalee loved family vacations, especially horseback riding at a Wyoming dude ranch and a week-long sailing trip around the British Virgin Islands. She and Blaine also traveled to Mexico and Europe, and enjoyed the annual drive with their pets to Scottsdale, AZ, where they spent many winters with friends and relatives. When she was younger, she enjoyed going to the horse races in Omaha with her mother and sister. In the 1960s, she bet on a horse that ran the wrong direction and decided horse racing was not for her, and she never went again.
Rosalee is survived by her children, Jayson (Pam) Seymour, John (Sarah) Seymour and James Seymour; grandchildren Blaine (Becky) Seymour, Jason (Abby) Seymour, Kelsea Seymour, Kristena Seymour and Kallie Huffman; step-grandson Zachary (Chelsea) Berkstresser; 6 great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sister and grandsons Charles Ralph Seymour and Justin Seymour.
The family would like to thank Kingswood Senior Living Facility and Kansas City Hospice for their wonderful care during her final weeks. A special thank you to Liz and Amy, KC Hospice volunteers who served as compassionate visitors and Mary Ellen Schultis, a family friend who also visited her often each week.
Services will be held at 11:00am on April 25, 2026 at the Tarkio Resource Center located at 405 S. 11th St, Tarkio, MO with a luncheon immediately following. A private family inurnment will be held at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Fairfax, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Community Hospital-Fairfax, Tarkio PEO or Kansas City Hospice.
