More commonly known as “Jim” to family and friends, he was born March 31, 1931, in Senecaville, Ohio, to Clare and Ruth Rose.
An industrious youth, Jim was never afraid of hard work. As a child, he delivered milk for Rose’s Dairy twice a day while also keeping up with his studies. When his parents moved the family to Boulder, Colorado, in 1944, 13-year-old Jim landed a job delivering papers before school.
He met his best friend and life partner in 1949 when his younger sister Marilyn brought Marlene Kay Everly, more commonly known as “Jackie,” to the Rose home. Jim was instantly smitten, and the two were married on September 2, 1950.
As they prepared to start a family, Jim began working as a bricklayer for Ray Harper Masonry. When the company’s founder retired, he turned things over to Jim. Over the next several decades, Jim built Harper Rose Masonry into a thriving regional bricklaying business.
Jim’s son, Ken Rose, and Jim’s brother, Bill Rose, bought Harper Rose Masonry in 1981, but Jim did not intend to retire early. He instead opened East Point Mini Storage in Longmont, and along with Jackie, worked and lived on the property until selling it to his daughter, Barb White, in 1989.
Finally feeling like he could take some time to relax, Jim and Jackie purchased a fifth wheel camper and spent the next decade crisscrossing the country. Their adventures took them everywhere from the rainy Pacific Northwest to the sunny golf courses of Florida before they settled back down in Longmont in 2000.
Of course, Jim’s life was about more than just work and travel. Everyone who has had the pleasure of knowing him will tell you that Jim valued family more than anything else in the world.
In his later years, and especially since Jackie passed in 2010, Jim looked forward to any excuse to get together with his sisters, brother, in-laws, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even distant relatives. From weekly dinners to the family’s traditional Christmas gatherings and annual Rose Family Reunion, Jim was always eager to spend time catching up.
A generous soul, Jim also enjoyed taking friends and family out to dinner. Though his favorite restaurant was Longmont’s Aunt Alice’s Kitchen, where he adored the carrot cake with whipped cream, he could also regularly be found at Red Lobster munching on coconut shrimp and teasing the waitstaff.
Jim had an infectious laugh and a prankster’s spirit. The tales of his mischief-making are the stuff of family legend. If you ever have the chance, ask his sister Shirley Olson about an incident with a tractor, or his older grandkids about grandpa’s birthday spanking shenanigans. It’s a safe bet that everyone in the Rose family has at least one amusing story to tell with Jim at the heart of it.
In recent years, Jim often kept his family laughing with his attempts to learn to use his iPhone as well as his antics on Facebook. Jim had no fewer than three Facebook profiles because whenever he forgot his password, he’d just make a new one. Though he was 88 years old, he enjoyed these newfangled technologies. He even took selfies with his dog, Red.
In fact, any attempt to summarize Jim’s life would not be complete without a mention of his love of canine companionship. Back in the 1960s, Jackie gave Jim his first Vizsla, a six-week-old purebred puppy he named Jodo Red. Jim began field training Jodo Red at seven weeks, and he became a field trial champion in 1970. He was the second Vizsla to ever win the championship in Colorado.
After Jackie passed, Jim’s son and daughter gifted him a second Red. This six-week-old Vizsla was named Rebel Rouser Red, and he immediately became Jim’s constant companion. Though they were no longer able to walk around the neighborhood together in recent years, the pair continued to enjoy many hours of quality time in Jim’s armchair watching football.
Jim is survived by his children Ken Rose (Barb Rose) of Platteville and Barb White of Brighton, and his siblings Shirley Olson (Virgil Olson) of Boulder, Bill Rose (Karen Rose) of Rapid City, Marilyn Johnson of Longmont, and Wilberta Fleming (Richard Fleming) of Phoenix, along with seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service celebrating Jim’s life is being held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, February 22, 2020, at Longmont Church of the Nazarene, located at 2111 Mountain View Ave. A reception will follow the service.
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