The ACU community lost Kathryn Brasher Rockwell last Sunday at the age of 100.  Rockwell was landlady to 90 different men over a 24-year period, mostly members of the men’s social club Galaxy.

Dr. Gary McCaleb, vice president of the university, said it all started when Rockwell’s son, Walter Rockwell, was playing baseball at ACU. Walter decided to move back home with his mother, and invited McCaleb and another man to live along with them.

McCaleb said Rockwell had one side of the house with a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room, and all of the mens’ bedrooms were on the other side of the house that also had a door where they could come and go without disturbing her.

“She was such a neat lady, the kind of person who was always positive and always encouraging; but she wasn’t nosy,” McCaleb said. “She just wanted you to find your talents, develop them and do something. She was big on not just talking about it, but doing it.”

McCaleb said when it came time for them to move out, she asked them to pick a few more men to come and live in the house. Through the years, McCaleb said it became a house where members of Galaxy would live, and they would just pass it down to other Galaxy members. Since her name was Rockwell, the men just shortened it and started calling it the Rock House.

“Even years later, I would have guys come up to me and say, ‘Hey, I heard you lived in the Rock House,'” said McCaleb. “The name just got passed down over the years.”

Within the last year, McCaleb said men who had lived in the Rock House got together to do something for Rockwell. They raised money and refurbished the recreation room at Christian Village, where Rockwell lived.

“They decided to rename it the Kathryn Rockwell Recreation Center,” McCaleb said. “They even put up a little plaque over there that tells about Kathryn’s boys who had lived in the Rock House and that the refurbishment was to honor her. She was always thinking about other people. She created the same atmosphere over there at Christian Village.”

Daryl Zeller, who lived in the Rock House from 1983-1984, said Rockwell was a “sweet lady” and he has nothing but great memories from the time he lived there.

Zeller, a surgical sales specialist for Johnson & Johnson from Abilene, attended ACU from 1980-1984 and was an officer in Galaxy when he first moved in. He said Rockwell was always involved in their lives and kept them in check.

“Sometimes she would cook for us and occasionally she would fold our clothes, which was really nice,” Zeller said. “However, she had a handmade sign that she would put up when one of us guys didn’t do our dishes to remind us to clean up after ourselves. It said, ‘No washee dishee, no eatee.'”

Zeller said he rented the room for $60 a month, all bills and rent included. He said the cheap rent helped his family when tuition increased.

He remembers when Rockwell, who he said loved the Thriller music video by Michael Jackson, would come and get them whenever it showed on MTV to have them watch it with her.

“Living in that house was definitely a blessing,” Zeller said. “One of the neatest things about living there was seeing the pictures of all the boys who had lived there that she had hanging in the hallway.”

Linda Mitchell, administrator of Christian Village Retirement Center, said Rockwell had been a wonderful example to everyone she came in contact with, and Rockwell lived a life everyone can look up to. Rockwell moved into Christian Village the day it opened in 1986 and lived there until her passing: a total of 26 years.

Rockwell was a retired nurse when she lived at Christian Village and Mitchell said she was always helping others, whether it was working in the office, serving as the activity coordinator for her peers at the retirement center or just using her training in nursing to help others heal.

Mitchell said Rockwell loved to play games and always looked for ways to keep her mind sharp.

“Kathryn was loved by everyone,” said Mitchell. “She was such a special person and was a friend and a leader to every person here.”