Norman E. Rose

AUBURN – Norman E. Rose of Auburn, Maine, stepped into eternity on June 6, 2023 at the age of 89. He was born in Lewiston in 1933, the son of Norris E. and Ruth (Pettengill) Rose, and grew up in Auburn, graduating from Edward Little High School in 1951.

He earned a B.S. degree in Agriculture at the University of Maine at Orono in 1955 and returned to school later to earn a degree from the New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science & Embalming (Boston, 1971). He achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA there—the only graduate of his class to do so.

In 1967, Norman met Mary W. Perry of Lincoln, Maine, and married her later that year at East Auburn Baptist Church. Despite the winter wedding (December 2), he drove his new bride home from church in his 1914 Model T Ford. His most prized automobile was a 1937 Pontiac – the very car in which he learned to drive as a teenager. He brought both of his children home from the hospital after their births in that car. Later he would maintain this important tradition for each of his four grandchildren, even though this required a “modern” modification—the installation of seatbelts—to his otherwise authentic antique auto.

Norman was employed for 21 years by the former Lipman Poultry Company in Augusta, first as a farm supervisor and later as a veterinary lab technician. Eventually he made a career change, spending 14 years at Plummer & Merrill Funeral Home, Pinette Funeral Home, and Dillingham & Son Memorial Chapel. Here he earned a reputation not only for his technical skills but for his ability to put the bereaved at ease, regardless of age or social standing. Most recently, he was employed by what is now Pinette, Dillingham & Lynch, where he enjoyed working part time during “retirement.”

He grew up attending East Auburn Baptist Church and was a member from 1953 to 1998, becoming a member again several years before his death. He served as organist there for 43 years and at times also served there as clerk, historian, deacon, trustee, and Sunday school superintendent. He also attended Court Street Baptist Church, where he served briefly as interim organist and later as substitute organist, and Faith Baptist Church. He celebrated 55 years as a church organist in 2010 before eventually retiring. While his memory failed in recent years, his ability to play his reed pump organ persevered.

At Orono, Norman was a member of the Alpha Gammo Rho fraternity. He was a member and former director of the Androscoggin Historical Society and compiled the East Auburn section of a book entitled History of Auburn, published in 1969. He was a corporator of the Auburn Public Library and a charter member of the Maine State Museum. (The 1895 Walker Steam Car on display in Augusta was held for years by Norman’s family.) He was a member of the Maine Old Cemetery Association, Reed Organ Society, Organ Historical Society, several antique auto clubs, and the Maine Funeral Directors’ Association. His hobbies included antique automobiles, history, scrapbooking, and tending his flowerbeds. He was also fond of cats, having sneaked the first one into the house in the 1970s, much to his wife’s dismay and his children’s delight!

Norman passed away on the anniversary of D-Day, which was fitting for a man who respected and appreciated those who served in the military. For years, he painted and maintained flag holders and replaced flags of ancestor veterans in various cemeteries.

Survivors include his beloved wife and best friend, Mary, of Auburn; his son, Stanley, and wife, Carmen, of Pownal; his daughter, Robyn, and husband, Jeff Dumont, of Auburn; grandsons Jeremy Dumont and Dustin Dumont; and granddaughter and grandson Alison Rose and Nathan Rose. He also leaves behind a half sister, Barbara, and her husband, Bryan Smith. He was predeceased by his parents and his stepfather, Raymond Washburn, and two stepsisters, Arlene Libby and Doris Bennett.

A memorial service will be held at the East Auburn Baptist Church on Saturday, June 24. Attendees are welcome to arrive for the service at 2:00 p.m. or drop in anytime during an informal 30-minute organ prelude and slideshow preceding the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice, and Norman’s family wishes to extend its thanks to the personnel of that facility, who provided excellent care and were so kind to Norman in his last days