Shirley Rosser, 92, a long-time resident of Hopewell Township, New Jersey, passed away on July 5, 2016 in Parker, Colorado.
Shirley served the community for many years as a chemistry teacher and golf coach at Hopewell Valley Central High School (HVCHS). She was well known in regional golfing circles as a fierce but friendly competitor, and a 16-time Women’s Club Champion at Hopewell Valley Golf & Country Club. Shirley was born on May 12, 1924 in Boston, Massachusetts, the second child of Kenneth P. and Gertrude (Folger) Crafts. She spent her childhood years in Newton Center, Massachusetts, graduating from Newton High School in 1942. Shirley earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. While at Cornell, she met her future husband, Keith M. Rosser, Jr., who was earning a civil engineering degree at Cornell while serving in the U.S. Marine Corp. Shirley and Keith were married on June 28, 1947, soon settling in Hopewell Township where they lived for 66 years. In late 2015, the couple moved to Colorado to be near one of their two sons.
Shirley served the community she loved in many ways. From 1957 to 1966 she variously worked as a camp counselor at the Woosamonsa Day Camp, a cub scout den mother, a substitute teacher, and a high school administrative assistant. She began her teaching career in 1966 when asked to assume a suddenly vacated position, teaching physics at HVCHS. Shirley taught by day and worked by night to attain her teaching certification, simultaneously learning the physics curriculum one step ahead of her students. Her outstanding efforts earned her a position as a full-time chemistry teacher at HVCHS, where she introduced hundreds of students to the wonders of chemistry over a 20-year teaching career. After Shirley became the boys’ high school golf coach in 1968, her teams won multiple Mercer County, Colonial Valley Conference, and Delaware Valley League Championships. In retirement, she read and recorded audio textbooks for use by the blind. Hopewell Valley Golf & Country Club awarded her an honorary lifetime membership in 2007, and in 2008 she was inducted into the HVCHS Athletic Hall of Fame. Although her family had lived 12 generations on the east coast, Shirley immediately embraced their new home in Colorado, avidly following the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies sports teams. Up until her sudden death, Shirley loved doing the New York Times crossword puzzles, and she was a voracious reader.
Shirley is survived by Keith, her husband of 69 years; their two sons, Bruce (Laurie) Rosser of Fountainville, PA, and Mark (Sue) Rosser of Centennial, CO; three grandchildren, Travis (Jenn) Rosser of Wilmington, NC, Drew (Taryn) Rosser of Highlands Ranch, CO, and Whitney (Ryan) Romanchuk of Miami Shores, FL; and three great grandsons, Wyatt, Levi, and Dylan. Shirley accomplished much throughout her life and was loved and appreciated by all who knew her.
In her typically humble fashion, she requested that no fuss be made and no service be held after her death.
