Vincent Rose's Obituary
Vincent Rose, originally of Brooklyn but a resident of St. Tammany Parish for over 35 years, dedicated husband for 48 years of the former Inalyn Payne of Massachusetts, father of 5 beautiful daughters and a faithful servant of Jesus and of his fellow man, died peacefully in his sleep on June 20 after a months-long struggle with cancer. He was 72. A man so full of life, vested with the rare blessing of being able to entertain generously and tirelessly for hours on end through his amazing cooking abilities for all those he considered family, he longed to beat the cancer that left him unable to host as he did for so many years and humbly submitted to the gentle care his wife and daughters were able to administer to him in his final months. For a while he made progress, and during this time he deepened his faith in Christ and shared the wisdom gathered from his many varied experiences.
Vincent was most concerned with others during his life, himself coming only after all those around him were taken care of first. Even as he suffered immense pain and underwent incredible courage in facing his cancer treatments, he was more preoccupied with his family, including his grandchildren, in whom he derived much pride and joy in their growth and accomplishments.
Spending his adult life in Louisiana working briefly in home construction upon arriving from rural Watertown, NY, and then for most of his years here until retirement designing and constructing beautiful backyard and some country club pools around the Greater Metropolitan New Orleans area, Vincent became renowned for his stylish pool and waterfall designs that enhanced the enjoyment of thousands who passed time with family in their swimming pools. He ran Pools by Vincent for 17 years after working as a salesman for several other local pool builders, including Gibbons, Balboa, and Aquarius Pools. He would distinguish himself in the pool business by giving personal service that was not overwrought but made his customers feel he was another family member. And he honored his word if something wasn’t done just right. And then he made it right, even if he lost money on the project. To him, his reputation was important, even in the days before public reviews on the internet.
Vincent was raised by Sicilian immigrant parents in Brooklyn where food was scarce for a large family with nine children. He was an orphan by age 12, and was raised by his oldest brother, Jerome and his wife, Laura. As an adult, he was most happy having his large extended family over to his bucolic 5-acre property in Grande Hills subdivision in Bush, which allowed him to entertain dozens of people in epic parties that began in the morning with recipes he concocted and tweaked that were passed on down from his Sicilian mother, Carmelina Lauria Rose, and his sisters Florence, Fanny and Jenny. Each had special cooking skills of their own.
A Rose family gathering would unfold as an event with copious wine selections and antipasto which rolled out first, then a huge bowl of homemade red sauce (puttanesca or marinara) smothering delicious meatballs and graced with spaghetti, Italian salads put together by his niece Carmella LoGiudice Briseno, then followed with American contributions of marinated barbecued chicken, juicy steaks and hamburgers grilled by his nephews Joey “Guido” LoGiudice, and his brother Sal’s sons, for the many kids running to and fro. They would also cook Vincent’s delicious grilled vegetables on his favorite Big Green Egg. A friendly competition existed for years between his beloved brother Salvatore “Sal,” whose secret recipe of roasted lemon chicken with orange accents ran neck-in-neck with Vincent’s succulent meatballs or his pasta with crab sauce or steamed mussels with marinara exploding with vibrant color and flavors. After these courses were devoured by family and friends, Vincent, usually clad in sandals and wearing a tank top wrapped in an apron and shorts, would shuffle his tired feet back into the kitchen to fry some calamari with his niece Maria Dominianni Wolf. If all this food didn’t seem like enough, he would start over late at night with some other seafood dishes and, if anyone had brought to the party any New York treats such as semolina bread or cannoli to stuff, that would be added to the smorgasbord. Vincent, tired from the daylong cook-fest, would usually sneak away for a much-deserved nap on the couch and then awake for some Cuban coffee made by his daughter Selah’s husband Rob Cambias.
Vincent also was a generous man to those less fortunate than himself, running a prison ministry program at the St. Tammany Parish Prison with his late friend Rev. Earl Roberts. They spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to these men, some of whom had no contact with others on the outside. Before Earl’s passing, Vincent had recaptured the vibrancy of evangelization he had experienced as a young man, when he began his family on a Christian farm co-op in Kingston and Watertown, NY. His daughters Cherith, Selah, Eden and Judea were born there and spent their early years in a log cabin Vincent built with his own hands and with the help of other members of the farm community. After he moved to Louisiana, Inalyn gave birth to the last of his five daughters, Tirzah.
Vincent was also a proud veteran of the United States Air Force, serving in communications in Germany and Japan during the Vietnam War.
In addition to his daughters, Vincent is survived by his son-in-law Levin Glane, married to Cherith Rose-Glane and their son Tove Ocean Rose-Glane; Robert J. Cambias, V, married to Selah Rose Cambias and their children Santiago Roberto, Maximo Vicente and Isabel Viana Cambias; son-in-law Roger DiGregorio, married to Eden Rose DiGregorio, and their daughter Siana Rose Quillen; son-in-law Patrick Fortney, married to Judea Rose Fortney, and their daughters Alina Rae and Lauria Mia Fortney; son-in-law Joshua Johnson, married to Tirzah Rose Johnson and their daughter Talia Rose Johnson.
He is also survived by one brother, Frank Rose and pre-deceased by brothers Jerome, Anthony, Joseph and Salvatore Rose and sisters Florence Rose LoGiudice, Fanny Rose Dominianni, Jenny Rose Van Housen and too many other nieces and nephews to mention here.
Relatives and friends are invited to the Funeral Service at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 W. 21st Avenue, Covington, LA 70433 on Friday, June 23, 2017 at 12:00 Noon with visitation from 10:00 AM until Service Time. Committal service and military honors will be at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, 34888 Grantham College Dr, Slidell, LA 70460, at 2:00 PM. Please Share a Memory on the Tribute Wall at www.ejfieldingfh.com.
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