William "Bill" F. Rosman

Survivors include: wife Kathryn Rosman; son Nicholas Rosman, and his wife Alyson, of Winnsboro, Texas; son Thomas Rosman, and his wife Amanda, of Omaha, Nebraska; daughter Teri Rosman, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska; daughter Chris Rosman, and her husband Rich, of Omaha, Nebraska; step-son Ryan Rosso, and his wife Kelly, of Phoenix, Arizona; step-son Jason Rosso, and April Wiggins, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and step-daughter Julie Shannon, and her husband Marv, of Omaha, Nebraska.

He is also survived by his sister Mary Lou Crowder, of Glenwood, Iowa; and two brothers, Rudy Rosman, and his wife Pat, of McKinney, Texas; and Steve Rosman, and his wife, Pam, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his sister Elaine; his brother Jamie; and step-granddaughter, Lauren.

Bill was born on April 1, 1948 in Harlan, Iowa to Myron and Veronica Rosman, his birthday being a prophetic sign of the joy and silliness he would eventually bring to countless friends and family throughout his life. He graduated from St. Albert’s in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and very soon after entered basic training for the United States Air Force and served for two years. His time in the air force affected the rest of his life in many ways, both positive and negative. Exposure to agent Orange led to him being diagnosed with severe diabetes, but he also made lifelong friends whom continued to be a part of his remarkable life.

Bill was a lover of all things outdoors. He excelled as a Boy Scout, rising to the rank of Eagle Scout as a young man. An avid hunter, he enjoyed hunting all over the State of Nebraska for various game. True to his ability to find friends everywhere, his favorite place to go deer hunting with his friends and his Uncle Richard was a little family farm outside Alexandria Nebraska. The elderly parents of a former coworker welcomed the entire hunting party to stay in their home and treated them like family for years to come. Bill cherished their hospitality and paid it forward time and again.

On November 16, 1968, Bill was united in marriage to Janice Friesen, and to this union 4 amazing children were born. His children cherish memories of long days at the lake where he taught them to ski, road trips to visit family in Wyoming, camping trips, and late summer nights pierced by his incomparably loud whistle, telling them it was time to come home.

Bill married Kathryn Drybread on September 30, 1988, and his traditions continued along with her 3 children.

To anyone who met Bill, he was immediately a friend and often a life-long one. His ability to connect with and endear himself to people was truly remarkable. Customers at Sears appreciated his help, and later when he went out on his own, clients all over Omaha knew and trusted Bill at Plain Label Service to fix their TV, VCR or other appliance. His reputation for being honest and fair was widespread and word of mouth was easily the business’s main form of client referral. One particular customer had a rather interesting home, full of taxidermized animals. Bill proposed that, if he fixed his TV for free, would he teach him this artform? Turns out, this client was the head taxidermist for the zoo, and an immediate mentorship and friendship was started.

Later, as seemingly random as it may have appeared to many, Bill fell into an opportunity to take decommissioned payphones and, after repairs, rewiring and a multitude of themed decorations, sell them to people all over the country and beyond. Harley Davidson, Nascar, Camouflage, every NFL team imaginable, and of course Husker football phones were just a few of his creations. He was especially proud of his donated phones he created for charities such as Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness that ended up raising thousands of dollars. One Husker phone was even installed on the U.S.S. Nimitz aircraft carrier on which his eldest son Nick was serving. Along with his phones, his taxidermy turned into a serious passion, but even the seriousness of a dead animal couldn’t squash Bill’s sense of humor. His signature pieces ended up being 2 stuffed rats, (you read correctly) one being dubbed the Green Bay “Pack Rat” and the other a Husker Heisman rat. It was posed, dressed accordingly, and signed by the Heisman Trophy winners. And before social media was popular, word spread far and wide! Newspaper articles were written, radio hosts obsessed, and even on the other side of the globe on the island of Crete, soldiers were overheard by his son talking about the absurd awesomeness of these rats! His son was an immediate celebrity when his father’s identity was confirmed.

Bill loved his family deeply, and was fiercely loyal to his many friends. The stories are as endless as his joy and humor that he brought to so many. The family’s wish is that as many as possible share their stories of Bill and how he touched their lives.

Please join us in celebrating Bill's life. A visitation will be held on Monday, December 8, 2025 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm at Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home, with a Memory Sharing Service to begin at 6:00 pm. The Memory Sharing Service will be live streamed via https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c25124616379432

A mass of Christian burial will occur on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 11:00 am at St. John Vianney Catholic Church. Following the mass, Bill will be laid to rest at Omaha National Cemetery.

Memorials suggested to the Open Door Mission: https://www.opendoormission.org/donate/

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at westlawnhillcrest.com for the Rosman family.