William W. Rosser

William (Bill) W. Rosser, died in his home on March 18 in Lubbock, Texas. An internment, with full military honors, is being held at 10 AM at Resthaven Cemetery on March 24. A memorial service will be held at 3:30 PM on March 24 at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Bill was born in Honey Grove, Texas, on November 9, 1926 to Jessie Mae Briggle Rosser and Jack Rosser. He graduated from Paris High School in 1944 and entered Texas A&M University the following June. He married Kathryn Ann Lee on December 31, 1947, and graduated as a commissioned first lieutenant, US Army with a degree in veterinary medicine in June 1948. Bill practiced veterinary medicine in Enid and Alva, Oklahoma. He entered regular service in 1950 and was assigned to duty stations across the world including: Maryland, Austria, Germany, Missouri, Texas, Hawaii, California, Vietnam, Massachusetts, and Alaska. In 1979 he retired from military service as a full colonel after a distinguished thirty year career. His awards included Legion of Merit Cluster, Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class. After retiring, he was named Outstanding Alumnus by the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical School.

From 1979 to 1991, Bill worked for the Texas Department of Health in Lubbock, Texas. In 1991 he was transferred to Austin, where he served as the head of the State Meat Safety Assurance Program. In 1994 he was made director of the newly formed Bureau of Food and Drug Safety. He retired from this position in 1998, and he and Kathryn Ann moved back to Lubbock.

After returning to Lubbock, Bill worked as a consultant to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. He actively served his church, Covenant Presbyterian, volunteered at the Lubbock Lake Site, and devoted himself to travel, books, his wife, and his family.

Bill is survived by a large and growing family: Denis Rosser; Terry Rosser Manning, her husband Richard, her son Rick, her son Jonathan, his wife Stephanie, and their children Jacob and Aiden; Michael Rosser and his wife Linda; Leslie Rosser Wirz, her husband Ashley, and their children David, Jackson, and Katie; Kathryn Rosser Raign, her husband Jerry, and their children Erin and Max.

Bill’s family remembers him for his devotion to country, his love of adventure and travel, his thirst for knowledge, and the loving and gentle nature he hid beneath his gruff exterior. We will miss him.