Marie Rosetta Rouse (née Shoemaker) was born on April 29, 1899, to Sylvester and Martha Hefner Shoemaker in Kingston, Illinois. On September 15, 1925, she married Frank L. Rouse (born November 26, 1902). Together they had a son, Lyle E. Rouse (August 9, 1928 – April 23, 2004). During their marriage, they lived in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, and on a farm in Shelby, Oceana County, Michigan. Frank worked as a carpenter, and Marie as a stenographer. Frank took at least one short course at Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University): an eight-week short course on horticulture. On August 26, 1930, Frank died from diabetes. Following the death of her husband, Marie worked as a bookkeeper and typist clerk, while raising Lyle alone. On October 19, 1944, she married Harold O. Edison (January 6, 1896 – July 14, 1979), a farmer who was also widowed. Marie R. Rouse died on July 7, 1980, as is buried in Gaines Cemetery in Cutlerville, Kent County, Michigan.