Dee Dee Rose
1951 — 2022
“Dee Dee” Jane Anne Dusek Rose died November 7, 2022 at the age of 71. She was very much looking forward to reuniting with her husband Franklin Fox Rose who died in 2015. Dee Dee is survived by her siblings Jeff Dusek and JoDee Dunham and her five children: Julie Rose; Chris (Aleisha) Rose; Elizabeth (Corey) Norman; Anne (Kevin) Auernig and Laura (Jeremy) Jones. Dee Dee’s ten grandchildren were the joy of her life – particularly in her final years. Luke (Kim), Colby and Ryan Norman, Haston and Lilly Jones, Hannah, Addi and Hudson Rose and Leo, Axel and Willa Auernig will miss Grandma Dee’s treats and hugs and close attention to the details of their lives. Before her death, Dee Dee was able to snuggle her new great grandson, Weston Fox Norman.
Dee Dee was born on February 3, 1951 to Jack and Jan Dusek and raised in Southern California. She loved the beach and the sunshine. She was a swimmer and a cheerleader at San Clemente High School. When her brother got a baseball scholarship to Brigham Young University, Dee Dee followed him there. She studied physical education and spent a semester studying at BYU-Hawaii where she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There was a double rainbow the day she was baptized in the ocean. Her faith would remain the foundation of her life.
Dee Dee married Frank in the Los Angeles Temple in 1973. They lived in New Jersey while Frank finished is Air Force ROTC commitment and then moved to Arizona for Frank’s graduate studies. The Roses then spent one year in Monticello, Utah before settling permanently in Provo. Dee Dee was a fixture in local PTA and political circles. She loved cultivating new hobbies and rarely sat still. She taught her kids to work hard and serve others. After Frank suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1997, Dee Dee went to work full time in the district office of Congressman Chris Cannon. Working with constituents was a perfect fit for her skills and energy.
Dee Dee faced a steady stream of health challenges in the last 15 years of her life, but those around her rarely knew the extent of her pain. She coped by staying busy and caring for others. In 2014, she and Frank fulfilled their dream to serve a mission together for their church and spent a year at the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center. Soon after their return home in 2015, Frank died suddenly and Dee Dee moved to Mapleton, Utah with her daughter Liz’s family and her new puppy companion Lucy. At the end of her life, Dee Dee was living on Grandview Hill in Provo in a home with a spectacular view of the city and mountains. She loved watching the sun rise and set over the valley. To cope with her increasing pain and frailty, she threw herself into pampering her “Lucygirl” and growing cut flowers which she delivered to neighbors all summer long on her motorized wheelchair.
Everywhere Dee Dee went, she became a source of comfort and strength to those around her. Even in her final day she was obsessing about the comfort of those around her when her comfort was the only priority her loved ones had. We’re so glad her pain is finally gone. We’re so glad she’s gone to be with Frank. We’re so sad she’s gone.
Dee Dee wished to be buried next to Frank in a private family service at the Provo Cemetery.