Actress Who Portrayed Liesl von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music’ Has Died

My sweet friend Leo lay dying in his bed while some friends joined me in his yard to do some much-needed maintenance. Leo had been a vibrant man until stricken by pancreatic cancer and he didn't want to die and leave his wife, Anne, with the burden of upkeeping the house. This is why my friends and I were fixing things up. We knew it wouldn't be long before Leo was gone and we wanted to put him at ease and show him that his wife would be taken care of.

While we were working in the yard, a woman stopped by to visit and asked if she could pray with Leo. Leo was so pleased with the work we'd done that he invited her to peek out the window to see our progress. The woman's name was Rosmarie von Trapp, the oldest daughter of Baron Georg and his second wife, Maria von Trapp. Yes, that Maria. The lives of Rosmarie's mother and father inspired the musical and film, "The Sound of Music."

I've been blessed in my life to know some really wonderful people. People who know people and I've been afforded the opportunity to meet really incredible humans that I might not have otherwise. Including Rosmarie Trapp (she dropped the "von"). One of my friends who lives in Stowe, Vermont where the Trapp Family Lodge is located was friends with the grandchildren of some of the von Trapp siblings and he grew up spending his summers playing with the kids at the lodge. The first time I visited, my friend was able to give me a mini behind-the-scenes tour and I will hold those memories for the rest of my life.

Although she wasn't an actual member of the von Trapp family, I was sad to read this morning about the passing of actress Charmian Carr, who was best known for playing the role of Liesl Von Trapp, the oldest von Trapp daughter in Rogers & Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music.” "The Sound of Music" has been part of my life since I was a little girl and I feel like, with Carr's passing, part of my innocence of youth went with her.

Carr was 73-years-old and her spokesperson reports that she passed away due to complications from a very rare form of dementia.

[via Daily News/Trapp Family]