Gavin Rose:
CLASS OF 1974
Fairfax High SchoolClass of 1974
Fairfax, VA
Lanier Middle SchoolClass of 1970
Fairfax, VA
Brookmont Elementary SchoolClass of 1968
Bethesda, MD
Plattsburgh Air Force Base Elementary SchoolClass of 1968
Plattsburgh, NY
Estabrook Elementary SchoolClass of 1967
Lexington, MA
Gavin's Story
Life begins at 30. At least that seems to be the way it was for me. Just after turning thirty, in 1986, I met the person who later became my wife. We celebrated our twentieth wedding anniversary this past April 2008. In between, we have been busy raising three kids and loving life living in Charlottesville, VA. Drop a line any time you are in the area. I can be reached via email using gavinrose at embarqmail dot com, or using gavinrose at aol dot com.
Since graduating high school I have attended a variety of colleges, but never enough to earn a degree. I started at UVA in 1974 and took some classes at NOVA, GMU, and PVCC. After 32 years of knocking around and still wishing to earn a degree, I enrolled JAN-2006 with the University of Phoenix Online in their Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program. I am happy to say I graduated APR-2009!
I graduated high school thinking I would like to play football in college. That dream lasted about three weeks, when I decided that the head coach was 'insane' and playing football in college wasn't all that important. Don't get me wrong. I still loved football. I just thought the 3-hour two-a-days in 90-plus degree heat wasn't being productive. When I 'retired', my teammates encouraged me to stay, saying it was "the end of two-a-days and things would now be better." I had survived the hard part and the rest was gravy. Being an 18 year-old, I was a bit dumb and stuck to my guns. Now, 34 years later, I heard from my mom that she was delighted when she learned I wasn't going to play football in college. It seemed that any and all of her football friends ended up suffering physically in their early 30's from all the pounding they had taken during their playing days. Yes, it is amazing what you learn over time from your parents.
Between the ages of 18 and 30, I was able to stay employed despite my shortcomings with college. I worked, in no exact order, as a bank teller (twice) in C'ville, a Blue Shield claims adjuster at the UVA hospital, a brickmason's helper (my worst job, ever), a bridge construction laborer on the 495 expansion project (between Springfield and Telegraph Road), a pipe-layer and then a pipeline tester on the I-66 project (between Glebe Road and Spout Run), a bank teller in DC at McPherson Square, an extern at the Mitre Corporation working on the Locomotive Track Measurement System (LTMS), a dishwasher at a restaurant in C'ville, a doorman and cook at PJ Skidoo's in Fairfax, a doorman, waiter, cook, and kitchen manager at Fritzbee's Fairfax Circle, and the ...Expand for more
manager of Picco's Pizza Parlor in downtown Fairfax.
In 1985, I was already back in Charlottesville (since '83) and, with the encouragement of one of my basketball junkie friends (thanks, Mark B.), went to work for the UVA hospital on the 11-7 shift in Central Receiving. The job provided me the opportunity to meet lots of people working all over the hospital, from doctors to nurses to lab techs. In 1986, I held a Memorial Day cookout with several of my coworkers which eventually led to a new housemate (for the next two years) as well as the start of my dating my future wife.
Central Receiving was reorganized and I was assigned to the group called Lab Computing in 1988. Jenni and I were also married that year. A year later we went through a lot of changes; we had a new home built, I took a computer operator position with a company in Culpeper, and our first child (a daughter) was born. No other year has been quite so groundbreaking. The computer operator job led to a position in the functional test group, where I have been for the past twelve years. Our first-born was followed with two sons.
My daughter is in her third year at UVA (something I could never quite accomplish, even when given three opportunities). My #1 son is in his first semester at Christopher Newport University (CNU) and is playing on the soccer team. My #2 son is a 10th grader and continues to play competitive soccer at the premier level. My daughter moved on to cross country and track, was on the UVA team her freshman year, but never competed due to an injury. She has since decided not to compete in college. Instead, she wants to still stay fit by competing in the local Charlottesville Women's 4-Miler (Labor Day weekend) and the 10-Miler (held in April). With a little luck and some focused training, I might be able to run in the 10-Miler with her next April.
My mom is remarried (for 29 years) and lives in Oakton on Vale Road very near to West Ox. My dad remarried in 1977, but passed away in 1995. My sister, Pam, is married, living in Sterling, working constantly with her horses, and has twins boys who will be graduating this Spring 2010 from GMU. My other sister, Perri, lives outside Boston, Mass and raising her 11th grade son. My brother, Dean, is a police officer in Syracuse and also a newlywed (July 4th). I was best man. They even sent me an Hawaiian luau shirt bought while they were on their honeymoon.
From our high school days, I still stay in intermittent contact with Beth Greeley and Paul Terpak, but would love to hear from others any time.
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