Obituary of Derrell Gean Rose

Derrell Gean Rose “Rosie” of Tucson AZ and formally from Malad City ID passed away on 11/26/2020 at the age of 83.

Derrell was born 5/4/1937 in Garland UT.  He was the oldest of four children born to Hellen and Gean Rose.   He grew up on farms in Arbon, Pocatello Valley and Malad City ID.  He graduated from Malad high school in 1955 and attended the University of Idaho before enlisting in the Navy. 

He served proudly in the Navy from 1957 to 1960 as a Corpsman via the Navy/3 rd Marines in Okinawa Japan.  He was very proud to have served his country as a medic and felt the years served were life changing experiences.  He was an active member of the AMVETS, American Legion and DAV in Tucson AZ.

While stationed in Bremerton WA he met his wife and raised five children.  It is with great sadness he is preceded in death by his 3 sons, David, Scott, and Ryan.

During his lifetime, Derrell was proud of all the occupations he held and maintained many fond memories of them.  He was a licensed embalmer after the military, a carpenter for Skyline Construction, custom combine grain harvest, owned the corner bar in Malad, worked the oil fields in Wyoming, and finally worked from 1984 to 1999 for Central AZ Water Project from which he retired.

He always spoke with great pride about the family business Rambling Rose Coaches.  We all have our cherished “Rambling Rose” bumper stickers.  He shared many fond memories and adventures about piloting his Taylor Craft BC12D Cessna 150 airplane.

He loved to dance and was a social butterfly.  He would strike up a conversation with anyone he met.  He was known to visit a casino a time or two.

He is survived by his daughters Barbara (Rose) Moldenhauer of Pocatello ID and Renee (Rose) Padilla of Albuquerque NM.  He leaves behind numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

He is characterized by his phone message “I’m out and about making new friends, if I haven’t made it to your house yet, please leave a message.”   Derrell lived his life his own way and on his own terms.  He was one of kind and will be missed dearly.