Col. Richard Gary ROSE

ROSE, Col. Richard Gary (USAF/Ret.) Richard Gary Rose flew west October 18, 2016 in Tucson, AZ after a long battle with cancer. An only child, Rich was born to Elmo and Annabelle (Wilson) Rose on January 18, 1942 in Albany, CA. Upon his 1959 graduation from Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, CA, Rich continued his education at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated in 1964 with his BS in Forestry and Land Management and received his USAF ROTC commission. Rich attended pilot training at Williams AFB, Chandler, AZ, and received pilot wings in 1966, Class 66-E. During 14 years on active duty, Rich held a variety of positions. He was deployment Commander to Miramar NAS, CA, for several Dissimilar Air Combat Training efforts supporting the Navy's Top Gun Air-to-Air School. During the Vietnam War Rich was assigned to Thailand twice - once as an A-1 Sandy Pilot and then as an A-7 Sandy. With more than 200 combat missions he logged over 750 combat hours and was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and 13 Air Medals. In 1979 Rich joined the Arizona Air National Guard, Tucson. During those years, he was assigned as Chief of Standardization and Evaluation, Chief of the Fighter Weapons School, F-16 Assistant Director of Operations, Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics and as Logistics Commander. Rich's 32 year career garnered him status of Command Pilot with over 8000 total hours, with 7000 hours in five single-seat, single engine Free World Fighter aircraft. Upon retirement, Rich began a second career with Boeing and Lockheed Martin supporting fighter training and development, working at Luke AFB, Goodyear, AZ and again at Tucson Air National Guard. In actual retirement, Rich enjoyed traveling, following his favorite sports, the cabin in Greer and his family. Rich faced his diagnosis of skin cancer courageously and spent more than a decade traveling to M. D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston, TX. Rich is survived by his wife, Janice (Norris) Rose; daughter, Julie (Jay) Hotchkiss of Brookings, SD; granddaughters, Madelynn and Bethany; son, Rick of Dalyellup, Australia; grandsons, Michael and Jake; stepchildren, Bo Mate (Jennifer) and Alison (Jeff) Smith and step-grandchildren, Savannah, Donte, Devon, Dannica, Emily, Aiyana, Rashawn. A Memorial Service will be Friday, November 11, 2016, at 11:00 a.m., St. Mark's Methodist Church, 1431 W. Magee Rd., Tucson. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic, P. O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 or the 162nd Family Readiness Group, 1650 E. Perimeter Way, Tucson AZ 85706.