Gerald "Jerry" C. Rose

Gerald Clinton Rose, 87, of Highland, Maryland, died peacefully January 25, 2023.

Gerald was born on March 4, 1935 to a Fayette County, Indiana farm couple, Clyde and Amy (Barbour) Rose, the last of eight children.  Following the death of his father, the family moved to Connersville, where Gerald attended school and was active in sports and Boy Scouts.  He graduated from Connersville High School in 1953 and earned a scholarship to study engineering at Rose Polytechnic Institute, (now Rose-Hulman), in Terre Haute, Indiana, graduating in 1957 with High Honors and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a 2nd Lieutenant commission in the Army Corps of Engineers.  Following military service, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1959 and moved to Maryland where he was employed in the defense industry.  He began his career at Applied Physics Lab, in Laurel, MD.  He earned his PHD in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University in 1973 and then returned to APL.  Shortly thereafter, he joined Technology Service Corporation in Silver Spring, MD.  In 1991, he left TSC and, with two partners, started a new company, Systems Engineering Group.  He retired in 1997 but remained very busy as a volunteer at the Christian Services of Howard County thrift shop (currently owned by The Salvation Army).

He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Margaret, sister, Martha, son, David, daughter, Nancy, and four grandchildren: Ben, Bjorn, Amy and Sarah. He enjoyed being outdoors, golfing, walking, watching Indiana college basketball, and always looking for things to be updated and fixed.

A Celebration of Life service will be held February 4, 2023 at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Scaggsville Road, Highland, MD at 2:00 PM.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Salvation Army-Howard County Service Center, P.O. Box 420, Ellicott City, MD 21043 or to Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607-3000.