Dr. Ray V. Rose Ray Rose was born in St. Paul, MN on May 5, 1921. He died June 2, 2010 at Kadlec Medical Center as a result of a stroke. He was the son of Vinnie Kathryn Falk and Raymond Charles Rose. Growing up in Minnesota, Ray loved spending time with his many cousins, aunts and uncles in Taylor?s Falls. His favorite pastime was riding alongside his Uncle Evert on his rural mail route. He found great joy and freedom exploring the wilderness as a child, canoeing the St. Croix River and participating in nordic ski jumping. It was here that he developed a lifelong passion for the out-of-doors that he has enthusiastically passed on to his children and grandchildren. Ray graduated from the University of Minnesota with BS, MB, & MD degrees followed by an internship at the University of Colorado Medical Center. He served in the US Air Force as a flight surgeon for the 98th Bomb Group with assignments including Spokane, England, and Okinawa. Residency trainings in internal medicine and surgery at University of Colorado followed his military service. On June 25, 1948 he married Elsa Marie Janda, a junior high classmate, artist, and graduate of University of Minnesota in medical technology. After the completion of his surgical residency in 1955, Ray and Elsa were drawn to the Tri-City area by long-time friends and the local pioneering spirit of the new homesteaders of the Columbia Basin Project. Ray set up a general surgery practice that continued until 1995. Ray was involved in a wide variety of professional, civic and charitable organizations. He was a member of the Benton-Franklin County Medical Society past president, Washington State Medical Association past trustee, and Wash. Chapter of the American College of Surgeons past president He was involved in the Pasco Kiwanis Club 50+ year member, Tri-City Cancer Center founding board member, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital board member, Red Cross board member, American Cancer Society founding board member, United Crusade board member, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition board member, WSU Master Gardener Program volunteer, Franklin County Park Board and Pasco Planning Commission. In recent years his primary Kiwanis activity revolved around scholastic college scholarships and citizenship awards for Pasco High School graduates. He and his wife, Elsa, founded an annual Pasco High Health Science scholarship program. Ray loved practicing medicine and found great satisfaction awarding scholarships to students pursuing medical careers. One of Ray?s more cherished contributions to the community was his work on the development of Pasco?s first bicycle trail, along the Columbia River between Roads 39 and 54. He knocked on numerous doors to gain neighborhood support for the trail and then lobbied the City of Pasco and the Army Corps of Engineers to construct the trail. Subsequently, this has been one of the most heavily used segments of the expanded Sacagawea Heritage Trail. Ray balanced his professional life with a rich enjoyment of his family, friends and the out-of-doors. The cabin at Andy Creek was one of his treasured places to gather with his family and friends, where stories and smoked salmon were shared among the generations after a day of skiing or hiking among the Cascade wildflowers. After retirement at age 75, Ray continued to pursue his lifelong passions for hiking, skiing, cycling, mountaineering, swimming in the Columbia River, gardening, fishing, bird and game hunting, and international travel with Elsa. He was an enthusiastic organizer and participant in outdoor programs for seniors, including a mid-week ski bus to Mission Ridge and membership in the Fun, Fit and Over Fifty Club. Ray was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Wilbur Charles. He is survived by his wife Elsa and 5 children--Steve, Anita, Rick, Laura, and Lynnette along with their spouses Andrea, Neal, Judy, Hal, and Larry-- and 10 grandchildren?Dylan Kristin Collins, Caitlin, Aislyn, and Sierra Rose, Morgan and Forrest Perrine, MaryEllen, Chiara, and Ilsa Rose-Witt, and Lily Rose Mullis. A memorial service will be held at Anthony?s Event Center in Richland at 1 pm on Father?s Day, June 20th. The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ray Rose Memorial Program at SIGN Surgical Implant Generation Network, a Tri-Cities based orthopedic group that provides equipment and training to improve the care of trauma patients in third world countries. SIGN, 451 Hills Street, Suite B, Richland, Washington, 99354 509-371-1107 www.sign-post.org or to your favorite nature, conservation, or environmental organization in his name.