Josephine Alma Freed Rose was born February 5, 1939 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the second of three beautiful daughters (Jasmine, Jo and Jane) born to David Lester Freed "Doo" and her beloved Blanche Everett Freed "Baba". Jo passed away Friday morning October 3, 2014 after sustaining traumatic injuries early Thursday morning from a fall. At the time of her passing, she was surrounded by the loves of her life: her husband, J. Mark Rose, children Liza Rose Loveridge, Dade and Lisa Rose, Eb and Sue Rose and Kristin Rose and Alec McGinn, sisters Jane Hinckley and Jasmine Rich, and 17 grandchildren, nieces and nephews. We know that her mother, Blanche, aunts Bette and Ruth, grandparents, Joseph and Josephine Everett, and son in law, Tom, all of whom passed earlier, have embraced Jo with unbounded joy and love.
Jo was a person of unequaled brilliance, compassion, competitiveness, creativity and integrity. In the 40s and 50s when many girls preferred sewing and dance, Jo spent her days practicing serves, put-a-way shots, and hitting high and deep to the backhand. She pounded the tennis courts relentlessly. Doo coached her and then coached her competitors to beat her. She won. Jo became a National Tennis Champion at the age of 14 achieving the highest ranking of any Utah woman tennis player and was later inducted into the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame, joining her father who was already a member. Doo and Jo remain the only father daughter inductees.
Jo loved funny things. At Wasatch Elementary, she chose her life long friend, Lissa Duvall, because she was funny and would skip Brownies and hide in the stage rigging with her. Soon their friendship expanded to include Terrell Harris, Carolyn Mulliner, Paul Keyser and Q. Michael Croft. They would drive Jo's klunkmobile around town having the time of their lives. Later they all attended Bryant Jr. High, and graduated from East High School. Upon graduation and throughout her married life, Jo made new friends such as Jerre, Jodie, Sharon, Yvonne, Glenda and many others. She loved good conversation and interesting people. Ever welcoming to friends and new acquaintances, Jo took a great interest in people. Jo cherished her friends, keeping them close throughout all the periods of her life.
Jo attended the University of Utah where she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma and graduated Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa in English. Jo met her husband of 53 years, Mark, a basketball player at the U. They were married July 27, 1961 and sealed in the Logan, Utah Temple.
For the first several years of their marriage, Jo and Mark lived in North Hollywood, CA. Jo loved the warm weather and bougainvillea. There, Jo and Mark developed their lifelong friends, the Huntsmans, Hamblins, Bennions, Hinckleys, Woodwards, Clawsons and many others. We cannot overstate the incredible positive impact these friends had on Jo's and Mark's life and the lives of the Rose children. Our deepest gratitude goes out to them for filling our lives with love and hilariously funny stories.
Jo was an English teacher at Clayton Junior High School, an author, a designer and creator. She is known for her rich and bold colors in her decorating. In addition to home design, she created beautiful jewelry whether she beaded the pieces herself or hired professional jewelers to forge her creations. However, her greatest creations were her four children, molding and influencing their lives at every step. Jo was extremely proud that all four of her children earned doctorate degrees, encouraging, commiserating and supporting them along the way.
In the 80s, Jo used her decorating skills as a starting point to launch her very successful business career. Jo decorated houses and bought and sold jewelry to help her family during tough economic times. In the midst of this time, Jo and Mark took a chance and bought Beehive Travel. Jo loved building Beehive and loved the people with whom she worked even more. Jo recognized talent when she saw it, leading and nurturing the people at Beehive to build, together with Mark, one of the largest travel agencies in the Intermountain area. Jo's outstanding leadership and business talents were recognized when she was named Utah Business Woman of the Year. In the 90s, Jo and Mark sold Beehive and later built another successful business as principal distributors in Tahitian Noni Int'l which they continue to operate today with their wonderful partners, Dru and Maeva White.
Many words describe Jo: energy, intensity, ambition, work ethic, champion. For Jo, these characteristics were always second to her kindness, compassion, unbounded generosity and love. "Remember," she said, "the only way to effect change is through love."
Jo is survived by her husband, Mark, her sisters Jasmine (Chuck) Rich and Jane (Richard) Hinckley, her children Elizabeth (Tom, deceased) Loveridge, Dade (Lisa) Rose, Mark Everett (Sue), Kristin (Alec) McGinn and 17 grandchildren whom she loved.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, October 9, 2014 at noon at the Arlington Hills Ward Building, 1300 East Fairfax Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. A reception will be held Wednesday evening, October 8th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Thursday morning from 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the church.
Funeral services provided by Larkin Mortuary
