She is the mother of Anna Stanley, who played netball for the Silver Ferns 92 times.
While at university, Rowberry competed in athletics in shot put, discus and javelin events.
She took part in the 1971 World Netball Championships, which were held in Kingston, Jamaica, with New Zealand finishing second.
A junior-grade netball competition between schools in the Canterbury region is known as the Brenda Rowberry Cup.
In 2018 she and her husband were both given a Service Award by the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Association.