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Thomas W. “Tom” Rose, 63, Topeka, passed away on Sunday, December 23, 2007.
Tom was born July 27, 1944 in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of James and Mert (Ward) Rose. He graduated from Topeka High School in 1962.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1964 to 1968. He worked as an electrician for Goodyear for 37 years, retiring in 2006.
Tom married Barbara Ellen Clark in 1979. Later divorced but remain close friends. Survivors include his son, John Thomas Rose, Los Angeles, California; younger siblings, Steve, John and Bruce Rose and Jan Talbot. He was preceded in death by his parents, younger brother Mike Rose, and stepmother, Johnnie Rose. Memorial services will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday, December 28, 2007 at Penwell-Gabel Southwest Chapel. To leave a special message for the family online, visit www.Penwell-Gabel.com.
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Philip Gay
Tom passed away Dec. 23, 2007, in Topeka. His was the saddest of retirement stories. Within 30-days of his retirement from the Topeka Goodyear Plant, he was diagnosed with the cancer that took less than a year to claim him. In the last months of his life, he and his son taught me more about the meaning of strength-of-character than I've learned from any one.
Tom enjoyed maintaining & flying his small collection of airplanes, and for nearly 30 years he did his best to wear-out a single BMW motorcycle. Although he preferred to ride alone, we did share a lot of riding miles over the years, and I will certainly miss him.
Phil Gay
Christopher Edinger
Ahhh... Tom was a Peach... I dont have enough time to tell of all his antics....There was never a dull moment with Tom around.... .. gave up a summer to escort me to Colorado,, got married in my living room... had an old Triumph motorcycle he liked to .. race... took my camera to the Antartic...took me flying ....and many other things I could never forget.. a lot of which was in concert with Phil Gay... but... as always Tom showed us how to handle insurmountable odds with his strength of character and a never failing sense of humor. I am proud to call him my friend..
Chris Edinger