RIP Rosmarie Trapp: Paying Tribute to the Von Trapp Family Singer

RIP Rosmarie Trapp: Paying Tribute to Real-Life Member of Singing Family From ‘The Sound of Music’

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Rosmarie Trapp, the daughter of Georg von Trapp and Maria Augusta Kutschera, has died at 93. On May 13, 2022, the member of the famed Trapp Family Singers “passed away peacefully,” after a day “in the presence of loved ones,” said her family in an Instagram post. Born just outside Salzburg, Austria, on February 8, 1929, Rosmarie was a member of the famous Von Trapp family who inspired the iconic Sound of Music film starring Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews.

She was the first of three children of Captain Georg von Trapp and his second wife Maria Augusta Kutschera. Famously, the couple also raised seven children from the Captain's first marriage. The family refused to cooperate with the Nazi regime after the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria in 1938. They fled by train to Italy, pretending they were going on holiday. The family were already talented singers, so they set about touring Europe before departing for the U.S.

Once in the U.S., young Rosmarie and the Von Trapp family eventually settled in Stowe, Vermont. The charming ski town is known for the lovely surrounding mountains. The family's new farm morphed into the Trapp Family Lodge by 1950. Still in operation today, the Lodge blends the charms of both Austria and Vermont into one mountainous getaway. Rosmarie worked there with her family, and also traveled with the Trapp Family Singers. In 1951, she became an American citizen, signing her monicker as Rosmarie Trapp.

A devout Christian and beloved family member, Rosmarie's obitiuary described her as a “true ‘character' in Stowe.” She walked everywhere, ran knitting circles, taught music, and was known for her calligraphy. An active contributor to the Stowe Reporter, she had her own column known as Rosmarie’s Corner. “An emotionally sensitive person, Rosmarie had a keen insight and intuition as to who might benefit from her supportive ear, and she helped many people through difficult times,” her obituary notes. “Her generosity led her to constantly help others, literally offering people the clothes off her back, and running low on funds herself at times, after giving money to those she felt needed it more than she did.”

In a video by the AMAG Project and Synès Audio in 2015, Rosmarie discussed what it means to leave a legacy—or seeds, as she called it—for the next generation. Likening the seeds for the future to those she found in the woods near Stowe, the light of a woman with a fascinating life, love for cats, and talent for music is obvious. Rosmarie is survived by her brother Johannes von Trapp, the last living member of the Trapp Family Singers, and his wife Lynne, along with a multitude of extended family around the world.