Yellow Pages
Family, friends remember sixth slaying victim
BAY VIEW — It’s telling that there were more laughs than tears at Chester Rose’s memorial service.
Nicknamed “Chet,” “Chet the Jet” and “Chatty Chetty,” the 58-year-old Alger man lived life with a kind heart, open arms and a love for all people, his friends and family said.
“It’s like he didn’t have a schedule that he had to keep,” joked a neighbor at Rose’s Saturday memorial in the packed Bay View Community Center.
Rose was killed along with five others on Sept. 2. A former neighbor, Isaac L. Zamora, has been charged with the slayings and with four related assaults.
Rose had served as a neighborhood leader for those who lived along the gravel Silver Creek Drive — from organizing progressive New Year’s Eve dinners to fixing his neighbors’ car problems.
Friends, family and neighbors recounted memory after memory of Rose during his memorial service, almost all mentioning his friendly, outgoing personality and his love for his two grown daughters, Andrea and Stacy Rose.
He was the type of person who could fix his daughter’s hair for ballet lessons, and he was also a favorite among his fellow builders.
“He was a natural among people,” his brother Doug Rose said.
His love of music and dancing often pulled him into the Old Edison Inn, where he quickly became a popular partner.
“He was an equal opportunity dancer,” one woman said. “He would dance with everyone — he was a true gentleman and a gentle spirit.”
Rose was born and raised in Cleveland. He graduated from Case Western Reserve with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. A love of the outdoors drew him to Alger in 1977, where he designed and built his own home, and started the Silver Creek Construction Co.
Rose spent his life doing what others wanted, then turning the moment into the “best time of his life,” his ex-wife, Karen Rose, said.
Rose didn’t want horses but then built an arena behind his home for his daughters to ride them. When his then-wife developed an obsession for teddy bears, Rose accompanied her to conventions, and even bought a few bears for himself along the way.
“If he were here,” Karen Rose said, “he would want us to let it be, and get back to loving life as much as he did.”
Longtime friend, coworker and former neighbor Jon Tulliver said Rose was the first person his family went to when their house caught fire, giving them shoes, coats and toothbrushes, and was the first to help with the clean-up.
When Rose visited his neighbors, Tulliver said, he brought a smile and a story.
“Farewell, Chet,” Tulliver said. “You will truly be missed.”
The service closed with the Beatles’ song, “Let It Be.” Then, in honor of Rose, there was dancing.
Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .
