There are people who quietly pass through this world, and then there was Rosie.
If you ever met Rosie, you probably have a story. Chances are she made you laugh, fed you, bragged about one of her family members, or somehow convinced you that you were already friends. She had an uncanny ability to make people feel like they mattered, and she made it her mission to put a smile on someone's face every single day.
Rosita Marie (Cantu) Boley, 55, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on July 29, 2026. She was born on August 19, 1970, in Burlington, Iowa, to Alex and Jody Cantu. A proud member of the Burlington High School Class of 1988, she always carried her hometown with her and loved reconnecting with classmates whenever she could. In fact, if there was a reunion of any kind, Rosie was probably already there.
On September 10, 1994, she married her best friend, Daniel Boley. Together they built a life filled with laughter, family, road trips, and more memories than anyone could count. Somewhere along the way, Dan's love for the Raiders became Rosie's too, and together they became die-hard fans who never missed an opportunity to remind Chiefs fans when the Raiders came out on top. More than one unsuspecting friend received a phone call after a Raiders victory, only to hear a toilet flush before Rosie hung up laughing. She considered it world-class trash talk.
Rosie was first and foremost a mom. She was blessed with three children: Dakotah, Sierra, and Christian. Before she and Dan built their life together, Rosie experienced both the indescribable joy of becoming a mother and the unimaginable heartbreak of losing her first son, Dakotah, after just two precious days. Though his life was brief, the love she had for him never faded, and she carried him in her heart every day that followed.
Her children, nieces, and nephews were the light of her life. She never passed up an opportunity to tell someone how proud she was of them. If you stood still long enough, you'd hear a story about one of their accomplishments, or maybe the story of how she and Dan met, or how Sierra and Colton ended up together. She told those stories over and over, and somehow they never got old because she told them with so much joy.
Rosie had an extraordinary gift: she never met a stranger. She collected people wherever she went. Whether she knew someone for twenty years or twenty minutes, she had a way of making them feel like family. She was everyone's mom. She genuinely believed everyone loved her, and the funny thing is...she was absolutely right.
Her kindness knew no limits. She donated to causes she believed in even when money was tight. She would have given you the shirt off her back without thinking twice if she believed you needed it more than she did. Helping people wasn't something she tried to do, it was simply who she was.
Rosie spent much of her career serving others. During her years as a General Manager for Taco Bell, she gave countless young people their very first opportunity to work. She believed in people before they believed in themselves and taught them that serving food was really about serving people with kindness, patience, and respect. More recently, she found another way to brighten lives in the transportation industry, where truck drivers were always delighted when Rosie happened to answer their call. Somehow, even over the phone, people could hear her smile.
She found joy in life's simple pleasures. Bingo nights. Family get togethers. New experiences. Homemade brownies baked just because. Her famous Grandma's chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. Every new experience became a story worth telling for weeks afterward.
And Facebook? Rosie turned Facebook into her neighborhood. Online friends weren't "just Facebook friends", they were real friends. She celebrated birthdays, mourned losses, rooted for accomplishments, posted her famous "Mexican Word of the Day," and kept everyone laughing with the same humor she shared in person. Longtime followers also knew all about her running joke of trying to "sell her seester for a neeckle." It never seemed to get old, especially to Rosie.
She also loved joking that she was the "whitest Mexican" in the family. While her sisters inherited their father's darker complexion, Rosie loved laughing about being the odd one out. One of the greatest joys of her later years was finding and reconnecting with a long-lost sister, adding another treasured relationship to a family she loved so deeply.
Life dealt Rosie more heartbreak than anyone should ever have to endure. Before turning 28, she had already experienced tremendous loss. She lived with mental health struggles that were often visible to those around her, yet she never stopped trying to make someone else's day better. Even when she was hurting, she found ways to bring joy to others.
Rosie's life cannot be measured by titles, awards, or possessions. It is measured in smiles created, strangers turned into lifelong friends, first jobs given, pans of brownies baked, goofy hats worn, Yankee candles burned, stories shared, and countless lives forever changed by her kindness. She spent 55 years making the world a little brighter.
Rosie is survived by her husband, Daniel Boley; her daughter, Sierra (Colton) Woodall; her siblings, Amy Cantu, Ken (Chris) Gregory, and Sylvia (Saul) Macias; her nephews, Josh (Kassandra) Cantu, Alex (Jess) Gregory, and Eric (Crystal) Morgan, Josh (Bianca) Macias, & Saul Macias Jr; her nieces, Jensen Cantu, Jayden Williams, Julian Cantu, Pasha Foreman and Dayna Macias; along with countless other beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and her extensive Cantu family in Texas, all of whom she loved dearly.
Losing her beloved son Christian to cancer in November 2025 broke her heart in ways words cannot express. While those who love her grieve deeply, they also find comfort in imagining the reunion she had waited so long for, holding Dakotah and Christian once again, embracing her sister Chris, her nephew Jordan, her parents Jody & Alex, and the many beloved family members she had missed for so many years.
Please join the family for a visitation on Friday, August 7th from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Lunning Chapel. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, August 8th at 10:30 a.m. at Lunning Chapel. A luncheon will be held in true Rosie form, following the services at the Burlington Gym.
A memorial has been established.
Online condolences may be made by visiting www.lunningfuneralchapel.com