Theodore Lewis Rose, known to many as Ted, passed away on June 10, 2024, at the age of 72.  Born on July 5, 1951, to Ralph and Doris Rose, Ted lived a full and vibrant life alongside his siblings Marilyn Bailey, Sandie Fonseca, Linda Sperry (deceased), and Richard Rose.

Ted is survived by his loving wife of over 50 years, Becky; his two sons, Jason and Johnny; his daughters-in-law, Kristin and Shelby; and his five grandchildren, Jozalyn, Jack, Kate, Jessee and Jake.  Ted was a great husband, father and grandpa, deeply loved by his family.

Ted proudly served his country in the Vietnam War.  After graduating from Antioch High School in 1969, he briefly attended Diablo Valley College (DVC).  His goal was to become a CHP officer.  While at DVC, he tried out for the wrestling team but the coach asked him to leave the team after Ted completely dismantled the coach's super star.  Apparently, the coach thought Ted was a "little too rough with his guy."  Needing money and unable to find a decent job, he decided to join the Army.  He used his lifelong skills, smarts, and superior athleticism to survive and become a war hero who saved many lives during the attack on Firebase Mary Ann (March 27-28, 1971) where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal for his bravery, dedication and "heroism while participating in an aerial flight."  Ted flew in over 25 missions over hostile territories.  During his journey through Vietnam he also earned a Bronze Star Medal.  It should be noted, that Ted never once described himself as a hero or a great American.  Those words came from others who served with him including the Huey helicopter pilot of the gun ship Ted was the Crew Chief of the night of the attack on Firebase Mary Ann.  According to the pilot, at one point, Ted was knocked to the ground by a blast only 10 yards away from his position while outside the helicopter rescuing or recovering American Soldiers.  The toxic smoke burned his eyes but he got up and just kept on going.  Ted always showed a lot of grit in anything he did.  It is believed that Ted helped rescue or recover about 40-50 men that night.  Nobody really knows the exact number for sure as the whole mission was a chaotic mess.  Ted never really talked about Vietnam except in little bits and pieces.  He didn't like to think about the things he saw or did back in those days when he was only 19-20 years old.  If someone tried to praise Ted for his valiant efforts in Vietnam he would likely say something like, "I was just doing my job."  Ted was a soldier to the very end.  He never said he was scared of anything.  In times when most people might feel scared, he would just get mad instead.  Ted wasn't in favor of war (he liked peace) but he was a warrior.  His courage will always be remembered.

Ted worked for 25+ years as a laborer for Wm. G. McCullough, where his colleagues became like family and close friends.  They shared many memories together, full of laughter and camaraderie.  Ted's skills included pipe fitting, concrete finishing, carpentry and he was a great mechanic who was known to tear engines apart and rebuild them.   He was a jack-of-all-trades type of guy.   Ted was a mentor to many men.  Not only did he teach them the skills to do the job, he taught them to be tough and not to be satisfied until the job was done right.  When a job wasn't going well, he led by example and showed the other men how to persevere.  Ted took pride in his work but was known to be good at figuring out ways to get the job done as quickly and easily as possible.  Many of the men who learned from Ted went on to be City Public Works Inspectors, Construction Foreman and Supervisors for Municipal Services Districts.

Ted loved watching his kids and their friends play sports and took great pride in bragging about their athletic achievements.  He was an avid fan of his Bay Area sports teams.  Over the last 20 years he hasn't missed watching or listening to many Giants or Niners games.  He loved sitting out in the garage watching the Giants on the TV but listening to the radio broadcast on KNBR.  He also had a deep respect and admiration for NASCAR legend, #3, Dale Earnhardt Sr.  Ted would often wear a #3 hat to show his support even long after the #3 car hit the wall, killing his favorite driver.  That day (February 18, 2001) was one of Ted's saddest.  Ted always wanted to race cars but never got the chance.  Instead, he participated in demolition derbies, where he became known as Terrible Teddy with his iconic red, white and blue cars tagged with the "86ed again" number and Bud Man logo.  His love for speed and loud motors was a defining part of his life.

One of Ted's favorite past times was drinking a cold beer in his garage and listening to country music icon Hank Williams Jr., also known as Bocephus, with friends and family.  He loved that man and his music and had all of his older songs memorized.  His all-time favorite song was "A Country Boy Can Survive." He loved to crank up the volume and sing a long so that the whole neighborhood could hear him.  You knew he was having a good time when he put on his cowboy hat and started dancing around.  And like Hank said, "I can tell you right now, that boy was born to boogie."  One of his other favorite bands was Lynyrd Skynyrd.  His favorite songs included Free Bird, Simple Man, Sweet Home Alabama and Call Me The Breeze.  One of his favorite concerts was seeing both Hank and Skynyrd perform at the Concord Pavilion back in the late 90s with Becky, his kids and good friends.

Another favorite activity he liked to do while drinking a cold one was BBQ.  Ted mastered the art of BBQ-ing and Smoking.  He was known for his perfectly cooked, spicy Tri-Tip BBQ.  If the timing was right, he would whip up some side dishes using fresh veggies from his home garden, another one of his passions.

Ted loved the great outdoors, boating, camping and fishing.  One of his favorite things was driving his Tahiti Super Tiger jet boat out on the delta.  He loved to go fast and water ski.  He was a great water skier and the spray off of his old-school wooden O'Brien was like no others.

Through boating, Ted taught his sons about the importance of helping others.  He never left anyone out on the water broken down or stranded.  One time, a house boat was stuck on a sand bar out on the delta.  Ted got excited and looked at the situation as a challenge.  He wanted to see if his jet boat, the engine he had built, could pull the gigantic house boat to deeper water.  Well, after several attempts, it worked!  He was so pumped that he talked about that one for weeks.  Furthermore, when a neighbor needed help fixing a problem with their house or car, Ted was always there to lend a helping hand no matter the time of day or how tired he was from working all day.

Ted liked a good, inappropriate joke.  When Ted heard a good joke and started laughing, the entire room would be laughing with him, not only at the joke, but it was such a joy when Ted laughed hard.  He would lose control and it just seemed like he would never stop cracking up.  Seriously, it sounded like he couldn't catch his breath.  This would make everyone around him laugh even harder.  It was like laughing was contagious.  His laugh made everyone around him so happy.  The world isn't producing guys like Ted anymore.  Ted's memory will live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.  He will be deeply missed.