Donald
Donald Strang Rosser
d. August 9, 2022
Donald Strang Rosser passed away on the morning of August 9, 2022. He was surrounded by loving family in their South Carolina residence.
Donald was born in 1927 while Calvin Coolidge was president; the first television pictures were transmitted; Lindbergh flew the Atlantic; the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox and won the World Series.
Donald grew up in Brooklyn, NY during the Great Depression where he enjoyed playing stickball and delivering the Brooklyn EAGLE on his balloon-tire Schwinn. He attended P.S. 217, Brooklyn Tech High School and Alfred University.
He was accepted as an Air Cadet in 1944, and- influenced by Pat O'Brien movies- hoped to be a fighter pilot. However, with the Luftwaffe kaput, the program closed, and the Air Corps schooled him as a weather observer. Most of his service was with the Army Hurricane Weather Bureau.
As a 1950 college graduate, he headed his trusty 1937 Ford west towards Los Angeles. He ran out of gas and money in South Dakota. There, he became a reporter with the Pierre Capital Journal and then Page One editor of the Rapid City Journal. He once interviewed Chief Dewey Beard, a survivor of Custer's Last Stand.
With wife Helen, he returned East as a feature writer and copy reader for the Atlantic City PRESS. His most notable assignment was an interview with the Gimaldi royals at the Kelly beach house in Ocean City in the mid- 1950s. The Prince and Princess had crossed the Atlantic that summer to show their first child to Grace's family.
To double his income, Donald also taught English at Atlantic City H.S. In 1961, the New Jersey Education Association recruited him as an editor and house writer. Donald, Helen, and three daughters: Karen, Carole, and Susan lived in Willingboro, NJ for 25 years while Donald worked in Trenton.
As a cyclist he was a founding member of the Summit Cycling Club of New Jersey and a long time ride leader of the Outdoor Club of South Jersey. He toured much of Europe and the U.S. with a multi-national group of cycling cavaliers known as the Lafayette Riders. Over the years he competed in the annual New Jersey State Time Trial with little success. Then the New Jersey Biking Federation established a category for cyclists age 75 an above. He is very proud of the four gold medals that dangled from his dining room chandelier.
Donald was a great man who cared deeply for his family. He is predeceased by his wife Helen Miller Rosser of 60 years. He is survived by daughters, Karen Knight, Carole Paulus, and Susan Wilkinson. Sons-in-Law: Tom Knight, Werner Paulus, and Joe Wilkinson. Grandchildren; Charles Felton III, Amy Paulus, Alison Veselka, Joey Wilkinson, and Katie Diez. Great-grandchildren: Violet, Gabriella and Charles Felton IV. Beloved cousin, Dorothy Rosser Howley and his faithful dog, Bridget.
Donald was born in 1927 while Calvin Coolidge was president; the first television pictures were transmitted; Lindbergh flew the Atlantic; the Yankees acquired Babe Ruth from the Red Sox and won the World Series.
Donald grew up in Brooklyn, NY during the Great Depression where he enjoyed playing stickball and delivering the Brooklyn EAGLE on his balloon-tire Schwinn. He attended P.S. 217, Brooklyn Tech High School and Alfred University.
He was accepted as an Air Cadet in 1944, and- influenced by Pat O'Brien movies- hoped to be a fighter pilot. However, with the Luftwaffe kaput, the program closed, and the Air Corps schooled him as a weather observer. Most of his service was with the Army Hurricane Weather Bureau.
As a 1950 college graduate, he headed his trusty 1937 Ford west towards Los Angeles. He ran out of gas and money in South Dakota. There, he became a reporter with the Pierre Capital Journal and then Page One editor of the Rapid City Journal. He once interviewed Chief Dewey Beard, a survivor of Custer's Last Stand.
With wife Helen, he returned East as a feature writer and copy reader for the Atlantic City PRESS. His most notable assignment was an interview with the Gimaldi royals at the Kelly beach house in Ocean City in the mid- 1950s. The Prince and Princess had crossed the Atlantic that summer to show their first child to Grace's family.
To double his income, Donald also taught English at Atlantic City H.S. In 1961, the New Jersey Education Association recruited him as an editor and house writer. Donald, Helen, and three daughters: Karen, Carole, and Susan lived in Willingboro, NJ for 25 years while Donald worked in Trenton.
As a cyclist he was a founding member of the Summit Cycling Club of New Jersey and a long time ride leader of the Outdoor Club of South Jersey. He toured much of Europe and the U.S. with a multi-national group of cycling cavaliers known as the Lafayette Riders. Over the years he competed in the annual New Jersey State Time Trial with little success. Then the New Jersey Biking Federation established a category for cyclists age 75 an above. He is very proud of the four gold medals that dangled from his dining room chandelier.
Donald was a great man who cared deeply for his family. He is predeceased by his wife Helen Miller Rosser of 60 years. He is survived by daughters, Karen Knight, Carole Paulus, and Susan Wilkinson. Sons-in-Law: Tom Knight, Werner Paulus, and Joe Wilkinson. Grandchildren; Charles Felton III, Amy Paulus, Alison Veselka, Joey Wilkinson, and Katie Diez. Great-grandchildren: Violet, Gabriella and Charles Felton IV. Beloved cousin, Dorothy Rosser Howley and his faithful dog, Bridget.
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