Joseph John Rosse

05/25/2007

Joseph John Rosse, 83, of 1100 Mohawk Trail, Lot 61, died Friday at North Adams Regional Hospital after being stricken earlier at home. Born in North Adams on Aug. 12, 1923, son of Giovanni and Matilda Bordi Rosse, he attended Drury High School. Before World War II, Mr. Rosse played semiprofessional baseball on the Wall Streeter Shoe Co. team in the Dusty League. He also played with the former Greylock Division of Berkshire Fine Spinning Co. During his military career, he played with the Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., team, and was the winning pitcher against the St. Louis Cardinals. He enlisted in the Army on March 18, 1943, and served as a pioneer with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 119th Infantry, during the invasions of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhineland. He was awarded the Purple Heart and many other campaign medals and was discharged as a private first class on Jan. 21, 1946. Mr. Rosse was employed by the former Sprague Electric Co. for 18 years, retiring in 1978. Before that, he operated a gasoline service station on State Street. He was a communicant of St. Anthony's Church and a member of American Legion Post 125 and the Retired Men's Club of Northern Berkshire. He and his wife, the former Anna Elizabeth Johnson, would have celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary June 24. They were married at St. Joachim Church in Readsboro, Vt. Besides his wife, he leaves a daughter, Margaret Rossi-Howard of South Burlington, Vt.; two sisters, Mary Rosse and Dorothy Rushbrook, both of Williamstown; and a brother, James "Jack" Rosse of North Adams. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Joseph John Rosse, who died Friday, May 25, 2007, will be celebrated Saturday, June 2, at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 64 Marshall St., North Adams. Private burial will take place in Southview Cemetery, North Adams. There will be no calling hours. The omission of flowers and any donations in his memory are suggested for the Disabled American Veterans, St. Anthony's Capital Campaign Fund or a charity of one's choice, in care of FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, 74 Marshall St., North Adams, MA 01247, which is in charge of arrangements. He also leaves a son-in-law, Fredrick Rossi-Howard; and nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was predeceased by four sisters, Lena Mancuso, Louise Matrigali, Emma Ariazi and Edith Baldessarini; and two brothers, John J. Rossi and Theodore Rosse.

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