Thesen died of pneumonia on March 14 in Cape Town at the age of 86. Although she lived in the Knysna-Sedgefield area for most her life, after a debilitating stroke two years ago she moved to Kenilworth's Sherwood House nursing home to be closer to three of her children. All three were with her when she died.
Her elder daughter Lucia Thesen said even though her mother's ability to communicate was curtailed by the stroke, she expressed herself through a few carefully chosen words and gestures. Her essential self and salty humour remained undiminished and she would still cut to the chase, always finding the right words - or creating a new word or phrase.
Her youngest son Charles Thesen thanked the staff of Hunters Village Frail Care and Sherwood House for their excellent care.
Speaking to a large congregation, the Reverend Gillian Carter said Thesen's death was "the end of an era". "She was one of a group of young people who settled in Knysna when it was a small fishing village... and steered and guided it to the bustling and well known town it has become".
Born in Knysna and raised on Portland farm, Rosalind Newdigate matriculated at Diocesan School for Girls in Grahamstown, and then trained and worked as a nursing sister in Johannesburg. Her marriage to Stanley Thesen brought together two iconic Knysna families. The Newdigate-Barrington titled British gentry stock and the Thesen family with their Norwegian shipping heritage and timber and boat building interests.
Their six children were raised in the large Thesen family home overlooking town. Carter said Ros Thesen was a warm and relaxed hostess who always found time to paint, read books and poetry and think. She was not shy to voice her views - and did not approve of her husband's involvement in local government during apartheid and his appointment as mayor. She never stopped learning and in her 70s studied Italian and attended painting courses in Italy.
Although a devoted mother, who made clothes and knitted socks for her children, she made time to serve on the committee of the local primary school, the National Council of Women, Black Sash, and Friends of the Library. She was instrumental in the formation of the Knysna Arts Society, Millwood House Museum and the Old Gaol Art Gallery.
During apartheid she spoke up for those who were denied a voice, and was the co-founder of Bitou Crafts, which empowered women to earn a living by teaching them knitting, spinning, weaving and craft making and selling their products.
An artist of "significant talent" who specialised in painting, weaving and linocuts, Carter said Thesen had designed two stained glass windows in the St George's Anglican Church, where her memorial service was held, and a large weaving for the smaller church which she donated after her second-youngest son died in a car accident at the start of his adult life.
Her five remaining children Hal and Eric (who live abroad), Lucia, Andy and Charles all attended her memorial service and a private scattering of her ashes in the Sedgefield lagoon. Thesen is also survived by 10 grandchildren.
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One of Rosalind Thesen's 1971 art works titled Digging Kappers, depicts men using tins to 'pop prawns' at low tide on the Knysna Lagoon, while the chimneys of the old wood factory belch smoke in the background.
