John D. Rose, Jr.

John attended Lewiston High School and shortly after this, he left to work on a shrimp boat in Alaska with his uncle. After this adventure ended, he discovered his love for driving trucks, so he pursued logging, long-haul trucking and construction. In the years that followed, John worked for Western Construction, A&R Construction, Crea Construction and was still employed with Sutton Salvage at the time of his death.

On Sept. 1, 1984, John married Rhonda Schmitt and they made their home together in Lewiston. They welcomed their only son, Jackson, in 1986, and he became John’s lifelong buddy. John and Jackson enjoyed so many adventures together, especially muzzleloader hunting in late fall. Family was important to John and some of the family’s fondest memories were vacations to places like the North Fork of the Clearwater River, Thanksgivings in Portland and especially watching NASCAR races in Bristol, Tenn., Las Vegas, Phoenix and the Texas Motor Speedway. John had an affinity for cars, he loved working on them and watching them race. For many years, he raced stock cars in Post Falls with close friend, Lonnie LaPlante. He also enjoyed spending time outside with his family, boating, camping, fishing and hunting. He was especially fond of Clarkia, Elk River, Headquarters and Waha.

Jackson and his wife, Katie, have two daughters, Rilynn and Izzy, and John absolutely adored them. He often brought them to work with him and taught them to “run equipment.” He called them Nutter Butter, gave them the best belly tickles and would do absolutely anything for each of them. They were his light and he loved teaching them everything he knew about riding four-wheelers, fishing and who to root for when watching NASCAR.

John is survived by his wife, Rhonda Rose, son Jackson (Katie) Rose and his two granddaughters, Izzy and Rilynn. John was preceded in death by his mother and father, John and Charlet, and his two sisters, Debbie and Cheryl.

In honor of John’s memory, there will be a celebration of life from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1520 Vast View Drive, in Lewiston. We invite anyone who knew John to come and celebrate with us and share memories.