James F. Rosebery

Retired U.S. Army MAJ James Franklin Rosebery, a veteran of the First Gulf War,  aviation safety Federal civil servant, twenty-year Rocket City Miata Club member, and Huntsville Botanical Gardens volunteer, died February 19, 2020, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He was 68.

 A celebration of his life will be held from 4-6 p.m., Legacy Funeral Home in Madison, Ala. on February 29.  

 Born in Richmond, Va., August 24, 1951 and raised in Kirksville, Mo., Frank attended Kirksville High School and graduated from Truman State University (formerly Northeast Missouri State University), Kirksville, in 1974 with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science Education. In 1986, he was awarded a Master’s of Science degree in Logistics Management from Florida Institute of Technology, and earned a second MS in Industrial Safety Management from Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, in 1996. Frank was a member of the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and an active alum.

 Between 1974 and 1984, Frank Rosebery served as a company grade officer in Nuremberg, Germany; Fort Carson, Colo.; and the Seneca Army Depot, N.Y. He was stationed in Saudi Arabia from 1986 until 1988 as an ordnance advisor to the Saudi Arabian government. Frank returned to Saudi Arabia in 1990 during Desert Shield/Desert Storm as the executive and support operations officer of a 2500-person unit, where he directed maintenance and repair parts supply operations to support vehicles, power systems, missile systems electronics, and communications equipment based in that country during the Gulf War. From 1991 to 1995, Rosebery served as the U.S. Army’s logistics advisor in Dhahran, providing security assistance and advice to Saudi Land Forces. He retired from active duty in 1995. In 1997, Frank moved to Huntsville and worked for seven years at SAIC in the AMCOM Safety Office, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, before earning a position as a Federal civil servant there in 2010. He retired from AMCOM in 2017.  

 Frank’s hobbies included restoring BMW and Miata sports cars. He led or participated in road rallies and car shows across the Southeast U.S.; was an active TAC Driving School instructor; and graduated from the Skip Barber Racing School.  He worked as a volunteer at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights from 2017-2019.

 He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Wanda Elise (Evans) Rosebery; daughter Kristin Rosebery; son Army MAJ James Rosebery Jr (wife Virginia); grandsons James “Jack” and Lucian Rosebery; sister Margaret McKinney (husband Robert McKinney, Jr); niece Veronica McKinney and nephew Robert McKinney III. He is preceded in death by his father Dean and mother Amy Rosebery of Kirksville, Mo. 

 In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo.