Rosa Speer obit

Rosa Nell Speer Powell Passes Away

 

She was not on the list.

Nashville, TN — Rosa Nell Speer Powell passed away this morning at the age of 94. The last of the Speer siblings, Rosa Nell was preceded in death by her parents, Mom and Dad Speer, and brothers Brock and Ben, and sister Mary Tom Speer Reid.

Rosa Nell was known for her excellence in convention-style piano playing, and played weekly at the First Church of the Nazarene in Decherd, Tennessee, until shortly before her death. Rosa Nell traveled with the Speer Family from birth until her marriage to Edwin Powell and was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall Of Fame in 2005.

During Brock’s time in the  army durning WWII, she reluctantly took over his bass vocal part in the group. “Rosie” will be missed by her three children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She was born in Double Springs, Alabama, the second child (and oldest daughter) of George Thomas "GT" Speer and Lena (née Brock) Speer[3] (known to most people in Southern gospel music as "Dad" and "Mom" Speer), who led and helped founded the family group.

Speer began singing with the group at age 3, and eventually became the singing group's pianist. Along with her parents, she performed with her brothers, Jackson Brock and Ben Lacy, and sister, Mary Tom. She continued to perform with the group/family until 1948, when she left to get married. Eventually Speer-Powell would return decades later to perform sporadically with the group (till its end in 1997), and sometimes with the Gaither Homecoming Series as well. Speer was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association in 2005.