Harold Rosen

March 31, 1929 - November 26, 2020

Harold Earl Rosen passed away peacefully on November 26, 2020 due to complications from a stroke. He was born to Frank A. and Irene Horsley Rosen on March 31, 1929, in La Grande, Oregon. During the depression years of the 1930s, his family sought employment in Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Washington. Harold graduated from Mason City High School, Grand Coulee Dam, Washington, then attended Brigham Young University in 1947. He was called to serve an LDS mission in Argentina in 1949. Upon release, he returned to BYU to graduate in 1953 with a major in Spanish language and literature. It was there that he met and fell in love with his eternal companion, Marlene Allen. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on June 5, 1953, and spent the next 62 years together until her passing in 2015. They had five children. In August 2016 Harold married Mable Orgill; she passed away in January 2018. Harold enlisted in the United States Air Force and was trained as a Russian linguist for AF Security Service, working for three years in Anchorage, Alaska. Upon discharge in August 1957, he returned to BYU to obtain a Master’s degree and teaching certificate in Spanish and French. After one year of teaching at the Lovell, Wyoming high school, he was hired at the University of Oregon. While there he completed his PhD in romance languages and in 1963 was invited to join the faculty of BYU. For the following 31 years, he taught in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. He also spent time on the Faculty Advisory Council and the Graduate Council. Harold directed European tours for BYU Travel Study. His command of Spanish, French, German, and Russian made him very valuable when traveling through Europe, and he readily spoke Italian and Portuguese after only a few days of being in each country. Harold directed six BYU study-abroad programs to Madrid, Spain—the first in 1970, shortly after the Church was recognized in Spain. He and Marlene developed life-long relationships with the Spanish saints and saw great growth take place. Harold had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and served in many positions within the Church including BYU branch president, high counselor, and bishop’s counselor. He and his wife Marlene served four missions together; first in the Spain Sevilla Mission, twice as the executive secretary to the Area President in Central America, and finally in the Santiago Chile Temple where he was a sealer. Their love for the Spanish language and Latin people has brought them great joy as they labored to advance the work of the Lord. Harold also spent many years in the Provo Utah Temple as a sealer, mainly performing Spanish sealings, but also did French, German and Russian. He also performed sealings for many of his grandchildren. His life may best be described by this excerpt from Don Quixote de La Mancha, one of his favorite topics to teach. "Now look, your grace," said Sancho, "what you see over there aren't giants, but windmills, and what seems to be arms are just their sails, that go around in the wind and turn the millstone." "Obviously," replied Don Quixote, "you don't know much about adventures.” ― Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Life was a great adventure for Harold, and he enjoyed sharing these memories with his family. He enjoyed tennis, camping, hiking (including Machu Pichu), fishing, traveling the world (including attending Spanish bull fights, floating down the Amazon River, and exploring the Great Barrier Reef), serving others, reading, and scouting—where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, which set an example for many of his sons, grandsons, and one great-grandson who also became Eagle Scouts. He was a devoted father to his children and a loving grandfather. He is survived by his four sons: Hal (Diane) [Cottonwood Heights], David (Phyllis) [Provo], Mark (Mary Ellen) [Murray] and Phillip (Karley) [Provo], and his fiancé, Lynda Twede who brought much joy the last year of his life. He has a posterity of 21 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren, with 3 more on the way. He is preceded in death by his parents, his sister Jean, his wife Marlene, and his daughter Sylvia. Harold will be laid to rest at the East Lawn Memorial Cemetery. A Zoom memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 29, 2020 at 7 p.m. MST https://byu.zoom.us/j/8018422442?pwd=SWZ3MkgyOEo5WVhzVUpFeThrK09EZz09 In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the missionary fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. .