The ways in which people who had known, loved and served with George S. Rose were many and varied. He was a husband and father; he was employed as executive advisor of the New York Yankees’ Pacific Rim Operations, and he was an active Catholic in his parish, St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton, and served the greater Church of Trenton as an organizer for the annual Catholic Men for Jesus Christ Conference.
But on the day of his Sept. 2 Mass of Christian Burial in St. Raphael-Holy Angels Church, the hundreds in attendance were reminded that what he will be most remembered for is being a man who brought Christ into every part of his life.
Mr. Rose died Aug. 27 in his home in Yardley, Pa. His funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., and the homily was given by Father Jeffrey Kegley, pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, former pastor of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, and a close friend of Mr. Rose.
Before leading the Final Commendation, Bishop O’Connell offered remarks in which he recalled attending the Catholic Men for Jesus Christ conference just about every year since becoming Bishop of the Diocese 13 years ago.
“George would always thank me for being at the conference and for celebrating Mass,” the Bishop said.
“But today, I say to him, in the name of all of us here and those who were not able to be here, ‘Thank you George,’” the Bishop said, and acknowledged Mr. Rose as being a “great man and true servant of Christ.”
In his homily, Father Kegley admitted it’s difficult for those who are grieving to say goodbye to someone “like George who has had an amazing impact on every one of us here.
“He wanted everyone he knew to commit themselves to the Lord and to live as his disciple,” Father Kegley said. “We can honor George by inviting Jesus to come deeper into our hearts and asking him to fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we can be transformed into new life with Christ.
“Then, like George, let us help others to come to know Jesus,” Father Kegley said.