Birth date: Aug 21, 1928 Death date: Oct 9, 2017
Albert S. Rosenberger “Rosie”, 89, of Severn, MD, passed away on Monday, October 9, 2017 with family by his side. Al was born on August 21, 1928 in New Britain, PA to the late Albert and Rella (Bean) Rosenberger. He graduated from Read Obituary
Thanks Mike! Always warms the heart to hear how Dad has touched others.Sheri
Chief… thank you. The family enjoys hearing all the kind words from Dad's colleagues and AF family. He loved what he did and we are very proud to call him 'Dad'. Wishing you good health.
Thank you all for the kinds words and memories shared of our Dad. We are enjoy reading your stories and posts. Blessings to you & yours!
I worked for Rosie as a 202 in the S&W Center at Chicksands in the early '70's. He always had a smile, and a certain calmness. He was always good to me and treated everyone fairly. I learned a lot from him (and his whole team). When you spend a thousand mid-shifts (or at least it seemed like it), you get to know a guy… I'm glad I got to know him as he and his "helper" MSGT Dave Shepard helped mold this young airman for the future. RIP Rosie! ~ Mike "Cowboy" Simmons, Kerrville, Texas
2 fine gentlemen – Al and Roy – keeping a young JEEP squared away on her first tour…Chix was a better place with you guys…
Sherri, I am very sorry that I won't be able to be there. I live in Prosperity, SC and I have to be in Maryland on the 14th for some family business, so one trip of that length in the month is about my limit. I also remarried not long ago and have the pleasure of helping to raise a now 13 year old, the adopted grand daughter of my wife. After raising six children of my own, you would think I would have had enough, but she has fit right in with my other fifteen grand children. Your Dad and Mom were sweet people. I am sorry that Kath and I did not get to know them better. But I have to say that most folks in our "Business" were and are very decent, hard working, and respectful of one another and the citizenry of our country. It used to be that the NSA and the Service Cryptologic Agencies such as the USAFSS were steeped in much secrecy for good and proper reason. Today, however, there is as you probably know much information floating around. However, to get a bit more perspective on what your Dad was up to during his career, go to NSA.Gov and take time to read some of the old notes and reports that have been declassified. Very warm regards to you and all the family.
Jim, I thank you for the kind words about Dad. He was a very humble man and we know so very little about his service to our country (maybe rightfully so). It is so nice to hear how respected he was. I hope we get the pleasure of meeting you this week.Sheri (Al's eldest daughter)
I was assigned to Rosie's "Day Shop" section when I arrived at the Grünstadt Germany operational site of the 6910th Radio Group Mobile in the spring of 1959. I had just been reassigned to him after serving the first part of my first tour in Germany for the USAF Security Service at the 6912th Radio Squadron Mobile in Bingen am Rhein. I wasn't there very long when I discovered what a true gentleman Rosie was, what a very smart analyst and mentor he was to the guys who worked for him, and how respected he was as a boss and as a bowler. I had the opportunity and privilege to take a long ride with Rosie and Betty one week end in the Spring of 1960 when I drove them to Paris so that they could take delivery of their new Peugot. When I left Germany in late 1960, I didn't cross paths with Rosie again until he retired and came to work at NSA as a civilian in 1983. A quiet reunion as were many within the "band of brothers" who were the pioneers in the USAF Security Service. A reunion that was marked by conversation carried forward from 1960, a conversation that could have been had just the day before. I don't really know any of Rosie's family, but I do know that those who follow in his footsteps are kind and generous, just as he was. I believe he would agree with Henry Scott Holland; "Death Is Nothing At All."I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and youare you, whatever we were to each other, that we are still.Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy waywhich you always used. Put no difference into your tone.Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as wealways laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be everthe household word that it always was. Let it be spokenwithout an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.There is absolute and unbroken continuity.What is this death but a negligible accident?Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,just round the corner.All is well.
A TOUCH STONE, 17 May 2017. The following is an excerpt from a piece written in memory of Kathryn Rae Stevens Kimmett who died in 2008 and donated her body to science. Some of her bodily remains were sailed down the Potomac River in a burning Viking ship, and the rest were placed in a Columbarian vault. Rosie will repose in this place, and one day so will I.In Crownsville Maryland, not far from the Capital Annapolis, lies a large, relatively quiet rolling acreage surrounded by forests and near to playing fields and homes. It is a place of memories…it is the Crownsville Maryland Veterans Cemetery that is given over to the interment of veterans, their spouses and some family members. The Veteran's Cemetery in Crownsville is a serene place, but nearby from Spring through late Fall, there is the laughter and noise of the young and their parents and grandparents engaged in a variety of sporting activities. I believe that it helps us remember that it is a circle of life, because by late evening most of the laughter has died away, the night sounds take over, and hopefully all peacefully sleep on. Early mornings are awash with the sounds of nature, and even as another work day begins, there remains tranquility at this place of remembrance that can't be disturbed..
I worked for Rosie when I first arrived in England in 1967. He was well known for his professionalism, dedication, and easy going management style. We spent many midnight shifts together in the Surveillance & Warning Center keeping our fingers on the pulse of the world and ensuring the Communist horde did not have any surprises in store.I am indeed sorry to hear of his passing and pray for his family members who grieve him.Very sincerely,Dave Shepard, CMSgt (Ret)
