A. William Rose, Jr.

The world has lost a great man.  Arthur William “Bill” Rose Jr.  died peacefully at his home in Westfield, NJ surrounded by his loving family on March 25th.  He will be remembered for his gentle, kind & loving spirit and his passion for always doing the right thing the right way.

He was born Sunday, December 16, 1928, in Newark, NJ to the late Arthur W. and Almira Rose.  He attended Barringer High School, Georgetown and Fordham Universities. 

Bill was a tremendous athlete playing football, basketball and setting field and track records in Barringer H.S. He then went on to the football, basketball, track and field and boxing teams for Georgetown University.  He is in Georgetown University’s Hall of Fame for his boxing accomplishments.  He never lost a boxing match and his fastest knock out was in 57 seconds!

He served in the U.S. Navy as a submariner on the USS Crevalle.

He had a successful career as an Executive Vice President for Home Life Insurance for over 40 years.  He served on the Board of Directors for Anthem Insurance for several years.  After retiring, he and his loving wife Eileen, split their time between Westfield, NJ and Hilton Head Island, SC where he continued to strive to perfect his golf game, frequent his favorite restaurants and entertained his children and grandsons.  He was President of Echo Lake Country Club for two terms from 1986 to 1991.  He also served as President of the N.J. Seniors Golf Association.  

Most importantly, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend serving as a great role model for honesty, integrity and commitment.  He always loved sports and was a diehard fan of the Giants and Mets.  

Bill is survived by his wife of 63 years, Eileen G. Rose, his son, Thomas W. Rose and his wife Sandy; his daughter, Linda Marie Rose; his grandsons, Justin T. Rose and Michael W.  Rose. Bill was predeceased by his sister Janet R. Harris in 2015.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday March 27, 2017 at the Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave., Westfield. www.higginsandbonner.com A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 28, 2017 at Our Lady of Lourdes RC Church in Mountainside. Entombment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in Bill's memory to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital which has always been one of his favorite charities. The mailing address is: 501 St Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 www.stjude.org

 Service Information