Otto "Joe" Rosengrants

Otto Joe Rosengrants came into this world on March 4, 1935, to Ed and Elizabeth McAtee Rosengrants, at their home near Campo, CO, joining older siblings Bill Ed, Norma, and Isobelle. His family moved several times, living in the rural areas of Baca County, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and eventually Springfield, CO, where Joe attended 1st grade. They settled in the Edler Community, where his little brother Terry Allen was born in 1944. Perhaps it was Terry who prepared his older brother for all the big jobs he’d tackle in life, when his behavior, or rather lack of it, would frequently require the one-on-one attention of Joe during school. When Terry would misbehave in his classroom, Joe would be asked to go get him and sit with his little brother for the rest of the school day. Surely this made him better equipped and more enthusiastic about spending some summers away from home scooping grain, helping harvest, and working cattle in Texas and Kansas.  Joe attended the two-room school at Edler through his Junior year of high school, until he rejoined the same class he began his education with in 1st grade in Springfield, seeking a high school diploma from an accredited school. It was there that he met the love of his life, Norma Harmon. After graduating in 1953, Joe would go on to join the Navy in 1954. The states between the young couple, while Joe completed his electronic training in Treasure Island, CA, did not deter them. Marriage was proposed, parents were persuaded, and a wedding was planned, all through hand-written letters. Joe and Norma married on January 16, 1955, during Joe’s brief return visit, only after Joe sold his calf to purchase the wedding band he’d place on Norma’s finger. It was then that the newlyweds would load all their worldly possessions into Joe’s 1953 Chevy and hit the road to California to begin their long, full life together. During his career as an electronics technician for the United States Navy, where Joe helped monitor the Russian satellite Sputnik, they began building their family - Mark Alan born March 22, 1956, in Vallejo, CA and Michael Lee born October 23, 1957, in Honolulu, HI. When Joe completed his service with the Navy, he and Norma returned to Baca County to run the farm his father and brother, Ed and Terry, had secured for them in their absence. In the years to follow, Joe would build his farm while working for the US Forest Service, with his brother Bill Ed, and then as a city linemen. It wasn’t until he took his dream job for the US Postal Service, that they added Fara Lynne (February 6, 1960) and Craig Lyle (April 16, 1961) to their family. Life for Joe then revolved around family, farming/ranching, and his mail route, filling in any gaps with a commitment to citizenship and serving his community. Among his many involvements were the Edler Community Church, the Edler Lucky Leaf 4-H club, the Masonic Lodge (advancing on to become a Shriner and being selected to the Governor’s Divan), the Lion’s Club (selected as a Melvin Jones fellow), serving on the SECH board (helping to get the LTCC built), and serving as a volunteer EMT. A new season of life began as Joe and Norma’s children grew and started families of their own. Then, when he became postmaster in Springfield, Joe was able to entrust the family farming/ranching operation with his oldest sons Mark and Mike, and eventually accept the position of postmaster in Burlington. It was there that grandparenthood was enhanced with in-house bowling lanes, cardboard box sledding and mattress jumps down staircases, eventful road trips to the lake minus parents, and only slightly dangerous zip-lines off the balcony. After his retirement from the post office in 1989, being a grandparent could really hit full stride with Tyler (wife Laura) 1976, Beth 1978, Debbie (husband Chris) and Desirae (husband Justin) 1979, Blake (wife Chelsea) and Tiffany (husband John) 1982, Cortney 1983, Matthew (wife Shambrey) 1984, Kristy 1987, Alexandra 2002. His grandchildren will tell you that retirement did not mean slowing down for their grandad. They have many stories to tell of fishing, hunting, dirt-road trips (Joe never needed a map), sunrise services, picnics, and camping in the canyon, counting and feeding cattle, you name it, all the while doing something much more memorable - passing on his best lessons: Integrity trumps all; honesty is the only way; a good sense of humor can cure almost all that ails you; take care of what God gave you; hard work isn’t hard at all when you love what you’re doing; happiness can’t be bought or given and stays with you no matter where you are; everyone deserves a fair shake; what’s mine is yours; there’s no better way to pass the time than with a good game of pitch; there’s no place better than Baca County. He made living simply and living right look easy, and would have argued with anyone who told him it wasn’t. Joe was a magician with time in his retirement. He never seemed short of it. While he joined Warren Brinkley at Brinkley Real Estate, getting his realtor and appraiser licenses and doing appraisals all over Southeastern CO, he still had plenty of time to help Mike and Kandi out on the ranch, Cliff and Fara on the farm, Craig and Coty with their drilling operations, and any other friend or family that had a need. Joe didn’t know anyone that wasn’t friend or family. He even found time to convince a few others to join him in building the Longhorn Steakhouse in 1998, when he decided Springfield really needed another restaurant. When Joe talked Mark into coming back to Springfield to join him in the real estate business after his heart attack, he freed up enough time to allow himself to fulfill a lifelong dream and join Coty on mission trips with Baptist Medical Missions International. He traveled the world taking blood pressures, interviewing patients, trying to control the crowds, passing toys out to children, and making new friends visiting places like Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, Micronesia, and Romania. Later he helped Kay (daughter-in-law) find, prepare, and open the building for The Crazy Iguana, as well as add Sand Arroyo Solar to his schedule. The years took their toll on his damaged heart, the toughest and the softest heart we’ve ever known, and in January of 2015, he began researching the LVAD. His LVAD was placed on March 6, 2015, extending his group of friends to include the members of the Mechanical Cardiac Support team at University Hospital. As soon as he recovered from the surgery, he got right back to his work, his bionic left ventricle pushing him on to continue the lessons he’d started in his grandkids, with his now 16 great-grandchildren. He did a pretty good job of remembering his extra, life-saving batteries on trips in his little, red flatbed, even when he didn’t always remember to put gas in the tank. Joe was happy to prove just how far a tank could go on empty, and always ready, willing, and seeking the next challenge and adventure. On January 1, 2018, in this last winter of his life, Joe’s body and spirit were allowed to rest, just as winter intends after such a fruitful harvest of a life’s work of planting, tending, and sowing seeds. He was surrounded in the warmth of the overflowing love and gratitude of his family. His legacy and adventuring spirit will continue through the donation of his body to the State Anatomical Board, where it will serve as “teacher” to many medical students, and touch their work with new patients as they grow their skills as doctors. He would be pleased to know that they’ll think of him as a tough, old guy who’s imperfections never slowed him down but just presented new opportunities for adventure. In lieu of flowers, a charitable memorial fund has been established at the Community State Bank. Donations may be sent directly to 1301 Main Street Springfield CO 81073, or send payment to Maltbie Funeral Services 265 West 8th Ave. Springfield, CO 81073. Please make checks payable to Joe Rosengrants Memorial.