Irvin X. Rosen

“It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.” Mark Twain
Irvin X Rosen passed away peacefully on Sept. 11, 2015, at his home in Prescott, Arizona, surrounded by his children, family and friends. Irv was 87 years old.
Irv was born on Aug. 5, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri to Samuel and Fannie Rosen and, joined his older siblings, Ann, William, Allen, and, finally, Marvin made five.
Samuel moved his family to Los Angeles in the late 1920s for a more suitable climate for his children and wife. Samuel started Rosen’s Electrical Equipment Co. during the depression building his business and as his children aged, they all joined their father and incorporated Samuel Rosen & Sons in 1951.
Irv graduated from Garfield High School in Los Angeles, and then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Business Administration from UCLA.
Upon graduation, the Korean War had broken out and he entered the United States Marine Corps serving from 1951-1953. Irv was stationed at Cherry Point Marine Corps Base, North Carolina and Treasure Island, San Francisco, California, and trained to build and repair military radio transmission equipment.
An ambitious sort, after the war ended, he then joined his father and four siblings in the family business, Samuel Rosen & Sons, in 1953. Irv acted as the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Managing Partner until his passing.
Irv married Jetta (Erlick) Rosen and they had three children, and lived in Whittier, La Habra and then Montebello, California. In the late 1960s, moved his family to Huntington Beach, California for cooler weather. Irvin was widowed in 1976.
Later, Irv met and married Lynne Rosen (Seavert-Capper) in 1978, and they had made an active happy life for themselves, making their permanent home in Prescott, Arizona.
Irv was a complicated and eccentric man and his interests were many. He played piano, a consummate crossword puzzler and unrelenting punster (!); he was a painter and a doodler and a Boy Scout leader, a jewelry maker, a rock tumbler, a stone cutter, and a coin and stamp collector. He was a wood carver and turner working with his hands meticulously turning out a 9-foot cherry bench, only to then turn a miniature (24 inch) replica of the 9-foot bench for fun; Irv was and sculptor, and he relaxed by needlepointing; Irv was a voracious reader, deeply interested in World History and politics, he admired most Gandhi and Winston Churchill. Irv adored the movies, Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Patton were at the top. He collected hundreds of replicas of frogs, miniature teapots, antique slot machines, typewriters, and weights and measures of all sorts, fine art, and American Cut glass and rubber bands. Irv has travelled, extensively, around the world, meticulously (painfully) noting each and every detail, as he had always dreamed of becoming a travel writer.
Irv will be remembered most for his precise, quiet, fair nature, kind heart and easy smile, his very unique sense of humor, his keen business mind, and his undying obligation to his entire family.
Irv was preceded in death by his wives, Jetta Rosen, Lynne Rosen; his youngest daughter, Renee Rosen (VanDyk); and grandson, Christopher Hinckley. He is survived by his loving children, son David Rosen; daughter, Margo Rosen; daughter-in-law Katy Johnson; grandson Phillip Hinckley; and granddaughter Alex Rosen. He is also survived by sister, Ann Resnikoff; and brothers, William Rosen, Allen Rosen, Marvin Rosen and also 11 nieces and nephews.