Rose J. Aeck

Rose J. Aeck, who at 7 years old rode a donkey over 200 miles through rough terrain from her remote mountain village to Naples, Italy to ship out on the SS Rex for Ellis Island and the promise of a better life in America (where the streets were “paved in gold”), died August 23 at French Hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif. She was 95.

Rose was born in 1921 as Rose Rago in Alessandria del Carretto, a picturesque hamlet in the Calabria region of Italy. Her father migrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, Ill. Rose and her mother soon followed, and arrived in the Windy City in 1928. After graduating from the St. Louis Academy for Girls in 1939 and DePaul University, Rose went to work in downtown Chicago at 333 N. Michigan Ave. assisting Lawrence Pucci, the preeminent master-tailor of exquisite, hand-stitched suits. It was during a USO dance one evening at the Drake Hotel that she met her husband, Stanley Aeck, who was awarded three Bronze Stars and nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism at Omaha Beach during D-Day in Normandy, France. In 1946, they got married in St. Louis and settled in Stanley’s hometown of Sioux City, Iowa. The couple moved to Issaquah, Wash. in 1952, where they established a kennel to train various breeds of hunting dogs such as German shorthaired pointers that retrieve birds. Stanley was a renowned bird dog trainer of national champions. Together, they would travel across the USA to the Pacific Coast Field Trial Championships, where he judged all aspects of a bird dog’s attributes.

After operating The Tradewinds Bar and The Hunter’s Inn Tavern in Moses Lake since 1965, Rose Aeck began her political career as candidate for Grant County Commissioner. She worked as an executive secretary at Big Bend Community College for decades. She was a member of the Red Hat Society in Spokane and Treasurer of the Sinto Senior Center for many years. An accomplished chef, she loved to cook traditional Italian meals. Every May, she eagerly participated in the Bloomsday Run. She is survived by her daughter Michele. Known and beloved by many, Rose will be very much missed.

Rose attended Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Moses Lake for over 30 years, where a Mass will be offered for the repose of her soul.