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A Personal Message of Comfort & Consolation to the Friends of Kelly Rose
June, 2002
Whether a day or years, it seems as though not enough time had passed since the last time we received news like this:
Another of our brothers had fallen victim to tragic mishap ...
Our dear friend, Kelly Rose
How we loved the Zealous Proclaimers summer convention!
How we hung onto every word alerting us to how these Last Days were becoming increasingly treacherous - and how we need to be ever more vigilant with a view to prayer.
How we were re-vitalized to move ahead in The Faith - arm-in-arm to accomplish the preaching work to territories full of those still at-risk.
Coming off such a fine gathering with wide, appreciative smiles and with those sweet words of encouragement still gently caressing our listening ears, we're struck low by the loss of our friend, Kelly.
Our hearts ache.
Our faces wince with pain.
The sense of loss is significant and severe.
And even with the superlative Resurrection Hope among those whom Jehovah has blessed with godly insight, we are - as humans - at least momentarily sidelined with the loss of one of The Friends.
We pray to Jehovah for comfort and guidance.
And that we might have been counted a principled, worthy friend of Kelly's.
What an example Kelly was and will remain to us of so many fine Christian qualities.
Here was a brother that - just by his very presence - served as a constant textbook example of meekness, mildness and humility.
And we need look no further for a model of clockwork durability in The Faith.
Kelly was not, however, one to whom we could look for the putting on of airs - or to be ostentatious in any way.
Words like "pretense" and "showy display" simply did not exist in this brother's vocabulary.
Perhaps like no other did we know a man who loved to constructively tinker with whatever he found at-hand.
His resourcefulness, ingenuity and ability to craft something from only random this-n-that was possibly unmatched even among many of the creative brothers we've had round-about us for years.
Many of us surely feel that Kelly had to have been the inventor of the endearing grin.
Few people we know had a way of attracting us to them more with just a smile.
And we'd have to think hard - run up and down our memories - to bring to mind a soul more gentle than that of Brother Rose.
Yes - and by all means - Kelly gave us lessons in how to be human and how to be a friend.
If ever we would look for Presumptuousness - we'd simply have to look elsewhere - because we surely wouldn't find it with him.
Kelly also served as a fine example in modesty.
Always was he appreciative.
And he lived life on terms of his own choosing - agreeable, also, to his Creator.
As long as we have memory - having known Kelly will prove a benefit to us.
Having had him as a friend will only serve to make better friends of each of us.
We can add Brother Rose to the endless list of how Our Creator has richly blessed us.
In time and Jehovah willing - we will recover from this loss.
We will mount up again.
We will remember how Jehovah first loved us.
We will recall our own love for Him and His Word.
We will be reminded of what a Masterful Creator he is.
We will be reassured how - with one stroke of his mighty hand - He will forever brush aside all effects of sorrow and sadness for his faithful ones.
We will continue to incite one another to love and fine works.
We will never forget how Jehovah's love is the basis for all that we have.
Our brother, Kelly, will continue to live on in our memories.
Our love for him will remain intact.
Jehovah's word assures us that Kelly is just sleeping.
He is at rest.
He has no pain, no worries, no sorrows and no cares.
His race is won.
Everything we understand from the Scriptures tells us that Kelly went to sleep looking forward to a restorative resurrection in full health and vitality - coming back to life again in a world with no sickness, stress or strife.
Can't we just picture Kelly now ... in blue-jeans and a flannel shirt ... crouching low beside a campfire on a frosty Fall morning ... with a hot-pad holding an old iron skillet in one hand and a fork in the other - stirring and keeping an eye on what's underway.
How good it smells as the fire crackles!
How good it is to see Kelly!
About then Kelly looks up, smiles, gestures to the pan and says with his trademark generosity and soft, inviting voice:
"Well, hey, brothers - you're welcome to all of this you want. But right now - I believe you've got other fish to fry." And how right he would be.
So let us mark this day in the calendar of our hearts.
Let's reaffirm our love for Jehovah, for Kelly and for one another.
Let us recall that Kelly would appreciate us pausing briefly during this time of sadness and memorial ... and that he would want us, according to our own personal timetable, to rise from our grief and continue on with the lives of purpose we've come to know.
Kelly would encourage us to stay strong and active in the large army of those preaching the Good News.
He would want us to " ... stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah ... " - but with that book bag firmly in-hand, too.
He would want us to cast off every needless weight - and tighten our grip on The Word of Life.
He would want us - as he did - to keep our eye simple.
The Kingdom on Earth is now real to Kelly.
The next thing he'll know - someone will be excitedly greeting him with words like:
"Hey, Kelly! You made it! It's the New System!
Welcome, brother!"
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The following is an article written by Arty Smith for the Elbert County News. It was published on June 19,2002.
Kelly Rose was a gentle man who was part of a dying breed. Kelly was a forester. He helped manage forested lands, so that they stayed healthy and fire resistant. Kelly also sold firewood and talked gently to birds and other animals. He wasn't very comfortable around groups of people and this may have contributed to his untimely death last Thursday. Finally, he was a regular reader of this column so a tribute here seemed only appropriate.
Mary Frances first met Kelly a decade ago when she searched for firewood for her Quadra-fire woodburning stove that she had installed at her farm in Elbert. She found Kelly to be reasonable, reliable, and an awfully nice person. It seemed only natural that she and then we would continue to use him for firewood each year. After deliveries, we'd invite him in for a drink and we'd catch up on the latest in each other's lives.
He was always amiable, although he seemed just a bit lonely. If not lonely, he spent a good deal of his life alone. He lived in a small trailer on Elbert Road on some land he rented. We didn't know much more about him other than he never showed up to holiday parties or social gatherings, despite the fact that he was repeatedly invited. Five years ago, we started to see him more frequently. That was when we moved to Sunset Ridge Ranch. Now we only lived closer to Kelly's home. We passed by almost every day, on the way to work. There always were huge piles of wood stacked neatly around the property.
Sometimes I would see him driving his panel truck as it teetered out of his driveway. We'd smile, wave and continue on our way.
Shortly after that, we bought an even larger Quadra-fire wood-burning stove and depended on Kelly's services in earnest. Once again, the two-cord delivery was timely and reasonably priced. It was some time around the first delivery that Mary Frances mentioned that she had some apprehension about fire danger around our house. That's when Kelly told her more about the forest management that he did.
After much discussion, it was decided that the woods around the house would be thinned. I vividly remember the day I came home from work and first viewed the many felled trees behind our house. I was nearly sick right on the spot. I tried to look ahead to the safety this would add to our ranch but seeing all of those dead trees didn't help. Soon the felled trees were being cut into logs and left to season. But the branches and the ponderosa needles remained.
That's when I discovered Kelly's inventiveness. It seems that he had managed to take a wood chipping machine and mount it on a truck frame. The result was a wood chipping vehicle that Kelly could sit on and drive up and down rather steep hills. It looked like a combination between an ATV and a small tank. It was sturdy, reliable and eminently practical. I had to chuckle when I watched Kelly drive up and down the slopes around our house, repositioning the chipper so that it was close to all of the felled limbs. Then he would readjust the ejection spout, feed in the limbs, and wood chips would come spewing out like snowdrifts being gobbled up by an ambitious snow blower.
I spent some time helping him feed in the limbs and it was during those times that I found out a little more about him. Mary Frances contributed a good deal of time to the chipping process and got to know Kelly even better. Soon the forest around our house was thinned. Undergrowth began sprouting. Grass began to grow. And only wood chips were left of the fallen limbs. The forest looked healthier and safer. We also were finding out more and more about this gentle human being.
It turned out that flying was one of his loves. As a result, we hooked him up with Mary Frances' brother, Pat
Ashura. Pat has a fully aerobatic airplane, a YAK-52. He agreed to take Kelly for a ride. Although Kelly reported the experience as exhilarating, it shouldn't be surprising to hear that the forester turned a little green around the edges.
Kelly was a Jehovah's Witness. He devoutly attended two to three prayer services weekly. He preferred prayer meetings mid-week because there were smaller groups attending. It took all of his strength and religious commitment to attend services on Sundays, when there were so many more people. I could almost see his palms sweat when he told me about his discomfort in those larger groups.
Kelly had been married in his early twenties. He was rather vague with me about this period but he had fathered a son. He didn't view himself as the father or husband that he wished he could have been, however. His divorce seemed to have been devastating to him, if not surprising, because he still shied away from dating, although over twenty years had passed. I believe that his ex-wife and son still live in Ohio. He also said that he wished that someday he might meet someone within his faith, which was such an important part of his life. I don't believe that he had intended to live alone for all of these years. He had intended to have someone join him in his life but his painful shyness made that a difficult process.
He also talked of retirement plans. He was trying to save money and hoping to move to upstate New York, where he would live on some land that belonged to his family.
Kelly seemed to be one of life's true minimalists. He seemed to need very little. He had small quarters, worked hard, and kept expenses low by servicing most of his equipment himself. In general, he kept to himself, except to go to prayer meetings.
Although Mary Frances and I viewed him as a friend and had him for dinner several times, we had never been invited to his home, nor did we ever consider an invitation forthcoming. It was within this backdrop that Mary Frances passed his house last Tuesday. She noticed that his driveway was severely rutted and considered offering to bring her tractor and box scraper over to smooth it out. She tapped her brakes, slowed down, and considered turning into his driveway. But arriving unannounced wasn't part of either of our relationships with Kelly; in respect for the privacy he so vigorously upheld, Mary Frances drove on. She figured she would make the offer the next time she saw him or she would give him a call soon.
Last Thursday, Kelly Rose's body was discovered outside of his home. Apparently while doing maintenance work on his car, the jack slipped and the car fell and crushed him. He had been dead for at least two days. Mary Frances was devastated, especially considering the fact that she was going to stop and see him on Tuesday.
Kelly Rose died alone. This might not surprise anyone who knew how much time he spent alone in the forest and at home. He was a good man and a gentle spirit. I can only hope that he did not suffer many long and painful hours. I hope that he had time to make peace with the God in whom he placed a great deal of importance.
He was a good man, a gentle soul who will be missed by the few whom had the opportunity to know him, even a little bit. I know that when I look at the vigorous forest around our home or glance at the ponderosa pine coasters that he sliced to show Mary Frances the history of our land, my thoughts will be with him.
Arty Smith and Mary Frances Ashura-Smith wish to offer our condolences to the family and other friends of Kelly Rose, a gentle man who died before his time. |
Debra Rose wrote the following to Arty Smith.
Hi, Arty and Mary Francis,
I just read your article -- thanks so much for writing about him and for caring about him so much.
Just a few notes -- my mother and he and I were very close, especially he and my mother. They talked at least several times a week. By Friday night (the 7th) she was very worried that she hadn't heard from him, so she and I drove out to Elbert to find out what was wrong. We had a horrible sense about it. I found him under the car (as you know). It is a trauma that I will never forget, but I am glad it was me. It was right that it was my mother and I who came to him and took care of him. I think it is the hardest thing that I will ever have to bear.
He had in fact probably been dead since Thursday morning. He wasn't crushed but he had been pinned after trying to roll out of the way, and he couldn't breathe. My cousin who was there when they took him out said he had a peaceful look on his face. I don't think he suffered. I hope and pray that he is with his Jehovah as he so believed he would be.
Kelly used to tinker with and fix things for people, and as people spoke of him at the service and reception last Friday evening, that is one of the common things so many people said about him. His son Jared said to me, soon after he arrived from Indiana, "I think Jehovah must have had something he wanted fixed." I laughed and I cried when he said that. Who better else to fix something for God than Kelly.
He was indeed hoping to go to the family property in upstate New York! He was intimately connected with his extended family (on his mother's side) -- we all grew up together because of our common bond with that property.
Thanks again for your article -- I will look forward to seeing it and having official copies of it. I will send you one of the programs that we put together for his service. I'll be in touch soon about the wood and I'll look forward to meeting you both.
Love, Debra |
