John H. Rose

John Rose was a tough man, who often lived a tough life, facing many challenges over the years, and he dealt with his hurdles his own way. In many ways, John was really two men, one who bore the many burdens he carried, and one who found the beauty in life, and in his family. He was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, and a loyal friend. Most of all, John was a man who taught us to never give up, that it's never too late to turn challenge into triumph.

John's story began on a cool fall day in 1923, in the bustling city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. That fall the young couple of John F. and Rose (Willin) Rose were preparing for a big change. On October 11, 1923, a cool fall Thursday, they celebrated the birth of a baby boy, a son they named John after his father.

John's father was a residential builder in Kalamazoo, while his mother was a homemaker. Sadly, when John was just a youngster of five years old, his mother died. His father soon remarried, and his stepmother Beulah raised him and his brother Wayne. The family lived on the north side of Kalamazoo on George Street, near Parchment.

John and Wayne were very close their whole lives, and always worked well as a team, starting when they'd put nails under their dad's tires to prevent them from going to school! Like so many young men in those days, John left school after the 10th grade, when the Great Depression was tightening its grip on the country.

John began working as a spray painter at Checker Cab, until he was drafted into the Army on February 15, 1943. John served in the infantry, and was seriously wounded in France in March of 1945, as the Allied forces drove the Nazis back to Berlin. John received the Purple Heart for his valor, but spent a year recovering from his wounds. He was discharged at O'Reilly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri on September 25, 1945.

When he returned home, he went on a blind date to a roller rink, where he became reacquainted with a childhood friend named Betty Nuyen. John was six years her senior, but the two connected, and were married on January 25, 1948 at the Justice of the Peace.

Betty brought her infant daughter Sandy into the marriage, who was just 10 months old when they married, and John loved her as his own. The couple was blessed with five more children over the years, with Jackie born in 1948, Betty in 1951, Marilyn in 1953, Debbie in 1957, and Joni rounding out the family in 1960.

John provided for his family by working as a contractor, like his father. He and his brother took over their dad's business, and named it Rose Brothers Builders, and worked well as a team. They were partners, brothers, and especially friends, and enjoyed going to Sidnaw, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula to go deer hunting with their friends. They also had a cabin in Irons, Michigan.

John was a passionate outdoorsman most of his life. He loved to hunt upland game and fish, and provided plenty of family meals of fish and game. John just loved being outdoors, whether it was hunting, fishing, or even golfing.

John and Wayne built beautiful homes together, quality craftsmanship, and John converted a cottage on Crooked Lake in Texas Corners into a gorgeous home for his family in 1969. In the 1970s, he and Betty also loved traveling for Home Builders Association events, to places like Mexico, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. Later in life, John and Betty spent three months each year in Fort Myers, Florida, where John loved to go deep-sea fishing.

He had other things he loved, as well. He was a meat-and-potatoes kind of man, washed down with some lemon meringue pie or pineapple upside-down cake, of course. He also enjoyed playing cribbage, reading the paper, or Reader's Digest. And he loved his dogs, from the beagles to the Brittany spaniels he used to take hunting with him. John was a self-educated man, very bright, and could read blueprints and calculate measurements in his head. He also was very creative, and enjoyed drawing Indian chiefs or witches, among other things. He also kept a huge vegetable garden.

John was a tough man, and a real disciplinarian with his kids when they were young. It was always his way or the highway, and he even refused to wear a tuxedo to his daughter's wedding. He had a strong Irish temper, and could be stubborn, as well, but he also had a wonderful softer side to him, too. He could also be funny, witty and whimsical, and fun to be around.

John carried many burdens with him throughout his life, perhaps from childhood conflict with his stepmother, or maybe from the toll the war took on him and so many like him. And like so many, John turned to alcohol, and became a heavy weekend binge drinker. He never drank on the job, but the drinking became a problem for his family on weekends and holiday get-togethers, when he drank heavily.

Eventually, through his family's love, John was able to quit drinking in the early 1990s, and they saw a side of him they never knew, a man they were so proud of and loved to be near. John showed what a kind, considerate and lovable man he was at heart, and he showed his family just how much they all meant to him.

Shortly before his beloved Betty died of cancer in 1999, John developed dementia. He relied on her to help him, and when she was gone he moved to White Oaks Assisted Living in Lawton in 2003. He loved it there, and enjoyed singing and dancing and attending religious services. John died Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at Lakeview Hospital in Paw Paw.

John was a tough man, who often lived a tough life. He bore his burdens as best as he could, in the only way he knew how. Through it all, he remained a devoted husband, loving brother, father and grandfather, and a friend to so many. Most of all, John was an example that it's never too late to change, that tomorrow can always be better than today. His lessons, and his love, lives on in all who knew him. He will be greatly missed.

Learn more about John, view his Life Story Film and visit with his family and friends Sunday from 4:00-8:00 PM at the Life Story Funeral Home-Betzler 6080 Stadium Dr, Kalamazoo 375-2900 where a Service to Celebrate his life will be held Monday at 2:00 PM. Interment Hope Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his wife, Betty in 1999; and his daughter, Betty Kilgore in 2001. Members of his family include five daughters: Sandy Boyd, Jackie Tesman, Marilyn (Andy) Patton, Debbie Trainer and Joni (Grant) Eggen; twenty-two grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Please visit John's personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read his Life Story, archive a favorite memory, order flowers, upload photos, or make a memorial contribution to the Alzheimer's Association.