Obituary of Fred A. Rose

Dr. Fred A. Rose, 68, of Fort Atkinson passed away on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.� Dr. Rose and his wife, Helen, are long-time residents of Fort Atkinson where Fred was actively involved in numerous business and volunteer activities in the community. �Fred was born Sept. 18, 1940, in Belleville, IL, the son of Fred E. and Felicia (Green) Rose.� He and his two brothers grew up enjoying hunting and fishing, the beginning of a life-long love of sportsmanship and the outdoors. �Fred and Helen were married on Dec. 28, 1963 in Madison, WI while they were both students at the University of Wisconsin.� While receiving his Ph.D. is physics from UW, Fred started two small high-tech businesses that were later purchased by Norland Corp. in Fort Atkinson.� In 1971, Fred became president of Norland.� Over the next 14 years, he grew the company to worldwide sales of more than $22 million.� After leaving Norland in 1985, he devoted his efforts and insight to the development of several high-tech companies in telecommunications. �Fred derived great joy and satisfaction from his many volunteer activities in the community.� He served on the board of directors for many organizations, including the Boy Scout Council, the Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce, the United Way and the Fort Atkinson Rotary Club.� At the time of his death, he was chairman of the Advisory Council of the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Atkinson and a member of the Chamber of Commerce Tourism committee.� He served as a volunteer publicist, photographer, and web-master for the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation.� His community service efforts led to a number of awards including recognition by the Rotary Club with the Four Avenues of Service Award (2008).� He was named an Honorary Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary in 2006 and was honored at the 2007 Fort Atkinson Regional Science Fair for his dedication to judging and his life-long contributions to science.� Fred and Helen recently established the Inspire A Dream Scholarship through the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation to encourage bright, but disadvantaged, youngsters to aspire to a post-secondary education - students who might never otherwise have considered attending college. �Fred sought adventure and thrived on challenge - and always included his family in the fun.� Fred, Helen and the children enjoyed a number of wilderness camping and hunting adventures and he pursued an avid interest in aviation, obtaining both private and commercial pilot licenses.� Fred and Helen went downhill skiing for the first time on their honeymoon and Fred went on to become an accomplished skier, tackling some of the most difficult slopes in the Rockies.� His taste for adventure included travel -- Fred and Helen moved with their daughters to Europe for a year while he established a European business office.� Fred was a lifeguard and swim instructor in high school and continued his love of water sports throughout his life.� Until his illness, he enjoyed waterskiing, powerboating, and sailing with family and friends.� He especially treasured the opportunity to take his granddaughters sailing in the British Virgin Islands shortly before he became ill. �Fred is survived by his wife, Helen; daughters, Kathy (David) Friedman of Nashville, TN and Cheryl (Matthew) Lind of Baltimore, MD; grandchildren Lena, Louisa, and Geofrey Friedman and Matthew Lind; and brothers Charles Rose (Gaithersburg, MD) and Luke Rose (Sacramento, CA). �The family will receive visitors from 2:00-5:00 PM on Saturday, May 2 at Nitardy Funeral Home in Fort Atkinson.� A special time for sharing memories of Fred will be held at 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 3, also at Nitardy. �Those desiring an expression of sympathy may wish to consider a memorial contribution to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation for the benefit of either the Rose Inspire a Dream Scholarship or the Boys and Girls Club of Fort Atkinson (244 N. Main St., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538).� Fred and his family appreciated the expressions of encouragement and friendship communicated during his illness through CaringBridge.org (www.caringbridge.org/visit/fortatkinsonfred).