Willard Stanley Rose, age 77 of Springville, Utah passed peacefully from this life, surrounded by his family on May 1, 2022 in Provo, Utah. Will was born on July 9, 1944, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the 3rd of five children born to Stanley Baker Rose and Ima Palmer Rose. He married Linda Cheryl McGee in 1969, and they had two children: Rick and Lissa Rose. They were later divorced. On Christmas Day, December 25, 1981, Will married Grace Mair McMillan in Bountiful, Utah. They were later sealed in the Los Angeles LDS temple. Grace preceded him in death on January 25, 2022, shortly after their 40th anniversary.
Will grew up in Winslow, Arizona and graduated from Winslow High School. As a young man he served a mission for the LDS Church in Montevideo, Uruguay which he always considered to be one of his greatest accomplishments. He loved getting a chance to speak Spanish with someone whenever he could. In his early married life, Will managed a western clothing store in Holbrook, Arizona. In this position, he served many Native American customers, and grew to love their culture, jewelry and handiwork.
Will attended Arizona State College (which became Northern Arizona University) in Flagstaff, Arizona and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He later graduated from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and went on to earn two master’s degrees at the University of Southern California. He was a proud USC Trojan to his dying day. While living in California, he also became a diehard LA Dodgers fan. He loved to take visiting family members to a Dodger game and treat them to Dodger Dogs and peanuts.
After living in California for many years, Will moved to Washington State, living in the Seattle area, which he grew to love and think of as his home. While living there he worked for the US Department of Defense as a Military Procurement Officer. He was never in the Army but worked very closely as a government contractor. It was while living in Washington that Will and Grace were called to serve in the Europe Area of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as missionaries teaching Church leaders about the Addiction Recovery Program.
They then moved to Roy, Utah to be nearer to family. As Will’s health declined, he moved even closer to family in Springville, Utah where he lived the final year of his life.
Willard is survived by his son, Rick Rose (partner Melinda Ovnicek) and his daughter, Lissa Rose (Scott) Lurth; stepdaughters Robin Murillo; Rebecca (Brad) Pedersen; stepson Glen (Lidia) Waterhouse; 13 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren; a brother Chuck (Nancy) Rose; sisters Carolyn Bloodworth; Valerie Peterson; Sharon (Mike) Ewing. He was preceded in death by his wife, Grace; his parents, and two brothers-in-law, Ben Bloodworth and Jim Peterson.
Funeral services will be held Monday, May 9, 2022 at 11:00 am in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church located at 6890 S. 2228 E. (Whitmore Way – just north of the Whitmore Library), Cottonwood Heights, Utah. A viewing for friends and family will be held just prior to the service from 9:30 to 10:30 am at the church. Burial will be at the Memorial Mountain View Cemetery 3115 Bengal Blvd, Cottonwood Heights, Utah
The family wishes to express their heartfelt appreciation to the amazing staff of Canterbury Assisted Living for the excellent care and love they provided to Will and his family members.
