Sound of Music family’s Rosmarie Trapp dies aged 93 after settling in US following escape from Nazi-occupied Austria
ROSMARIE Trapp, whose family became immortalized in the musical film The Sound of Music, has passed away at 93.
Johannes Trapp, Rosmarie’s brother, confirmed his sister’s death over the weekend, saying she passed away peacefully on Friday. A cause of death was not provided.
“Stowe lost one of its kindest, most gentle souls yesterday. Rosmarie Trapp passed away peacefully on Friday evening at the age of 93; she was in the presence of loved ones all day long,” the family wrote in an Instagram post.
“Her kindness, generosity, and colorful spirit were legendary, and she had a positive impact on countless lives.
“Please respect our family’s privacy as we take time to process this loss, and prepare to celebrate the life of an amazing woman.
“We believe the best way to recognize Rosmarie is to demonstrate the same selfless kindness and generosity that she exemplified daily.”
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Born on February 8, 1929, in a tiny village on the outskirts of Salzburg, Austria, Rosmarie was the eldest of Captain Georg Johannes von Trapp and Maria Augusta’s three children.
Maria married Georg following the death of Agathe, with whom he had seven children.
The family achieved fame in their original singing career in their native Austria during the interwar period.
In 1938 they emigrated to the United States to escape the Nazi occupants in Austria.
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They famously became recognized as the Trapp Family Singers.
Their story was memorialized in the Broadway musical and movie The Sound of Music; however, it did not include a character based on Rosmarie.
The works were based loosely on a 1949 autobiographical book by Maria, who died in 1987.
The 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Rosmarie’s death comes after her sister, Eleonore, who passed away last October at the age of 90.
In 2011, Rosmarie explained how she and her mother traveled back to Austria when they heard they were making a film of their journey.
“My mother (Maria) and I along with my mother’s niece Barbara took a trip back to Austria when we heard they were making the movie,” Rosmarie told students at Bridgeton Christian School in New Jersey at the time.
“We met Julie Andrews and the crew and they allowed us to be in the movie.”
Rosmarie, her cousin and her mother can be seen walking across the road when Andrews (playing Maria) passes under an arch during the song “I Have Confidence.”
“We had to walk across that road 10 times,” Rosmarie said of the amount of camera “takes” to get the scene correct.
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“That was the end of being in movies for me,” she joked.
Rosmarie is survived by her brother Johannes, the last living member of the Trapp Family Singers, his wife Lynne, and her niece and nephew.
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