John E Rossi

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of John Ernest Rossi, a man of great energy and intelligence. John was born on June 19th, 1947. Through his journey of 78 years, he touched many lives with humor and an unwavering spirit of perseverance.

John insisted on living his life on his terms. His education began in the U.S. Navy and continued at ASU with a BS in Political Science and a minor in Education. After graduation, he married Rosita Zwickl in 1976. Armed with a good education and his new wife, he began his career as a teacher of elementary children in the gas/oil separation plants in Saudi Arabia. After 3 years, his desire was to get his MIM/MBA from Thunderbird School of Management, which is now a part of ASU and enter the business world.

After becoming the International Sales Manager at Commodore Business Machines, he then began what he was really meant to be-an entrepreneur. He self-confidently built a startup electronics company, Blue Chip Electronics, Inc. That company was the first company to introduce and sell MS DOS computers into the mass merchant market in the US. In the last 30 years of his business life, John began and operated a Microsoft Consulting Company, Decision Consultants, Inc., which installed computer systems and delivered business-to-business services in the Southwest. The company sold in 2018.

John's family life was the most important part of life to him. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was married to Rosita for 50 years and together they have three children: Ernest Rossi, Stephanie Rossi, and Tricia Wauson. Six grandchildren: Rachel Rossi, Hannah Rossi, Brian Gibson, Nicole Valerio, Madchen Wauson and Matthew Wauson. And 6 great grandchildren: Zade, Lily, Melody Rose, Jax, Madeline and Xavier.

Although John was an athlete and ran in the NY Marathon in his mid-sixties, he fell ill with a brain tumor 12 years ago. With Barrows Neurological at his side, he thought he had beaten it, but it came back with vengeance. He fought bravely to the very end but died at home with family and the caring crew at Hospice of the Valley.

All of us close to John remember all the laughter, his wildly funny way of knowing every obvious, every hidden, every deeply secret but deeply funny thing about everything in life.

He did it right, with grace, with love, with family, with friends in the country that he loved and with God.

Funeral Services will be held at Our Lady of the Angels Church (Franciscan Renewal Center) on March 19th, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. The location is 5802 E Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85253.