Joseph Duarte Rose, 85, died peacefully at home, of cancer, on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. He was born in Marion on April 16, 1925 to the late Candida Duarte Rose and Antone Joseph Rose.

Mr. Duarte attended schools in Marion and New Bedford, and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1943. While at Squantum Naval Air Station in Quincy, he desired to become a pilot but was assigned as the captain’s orderly. As 2nd class petty officer, he ran the entire bachelor officer quarters. He was honorably discharged in 1946, receiving the WWII Victory Medal, American Area, European-African Area, Asiatic-Pacific Area, and Middle East Area medals. After his discharge, he fulfilled his dream and became a licensed pilot in 1947. He married Mabel P. Monteiro in 1945.

Mr. Rose’s drive and persistence were evident in his work history. He was first a truck driver for L.B. Handy Cranberries and helped run the screen house. In 1952, he went into heavy construction work with the Simione Stone Quarry for 5 years, then with the Perini Corporation for the next 28 years. At Perini, he started as laborer, then foreman and general foreman, and finally as excavation superintendent at the Washington, D.C. Potomac River Basin Tunnel. He retired in 1982.

He was an active member of St. Patrick’s Church, and his faith was very important to him. He was an honorary life member of the Knights of Columbus, and the first Cape Verdean to become Grand Knight.

In 2009, he was awarded the Marian Medal by the Diocese of Fall River. In 1966, he became an amateur radio operator, and in 1975 became a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, where he learned navigation in order to operate his small boat. He was a self-trained genealogist, documenting family ties and special events. He served as intermittent police officer in the Town of Wareham for 18 years.

Mr. Rose worked with many others in Cape Verdean-American activities. He co-founded the Cape Verdean Relief Association, was its second president, was on the Cape Verdean-American School Committee, and on the Cape Verdean-American Scholarship Committee. In 1996, he and his wife made a memorable trip to Cape Verde, visiting his late mother’s home in Brava.

In 1982, Mr. Rose was appointed a commissioner of the five-member Schooner Ernestina Commission by then-Governor Edward King. During her 41-day voyage back to the United States that same year, he was instrumental in maintaining daily ham radio contact with the historic ship. He was also a founding member of the Schooner Ernestina Association in Wareham.

Besides his beloved wife Mabel, Mr. Rose also leaves his sisters; Mary Pina, of New Bedford, Elizabeth Amado, of Wareham, and Antoinette Nascimento, of Valley Forge, PA; and his brother Manuel Nascimento, of CA. He was the brother of the late Arthur Rose, Walter Rose, and Eugenia Harrison. He also leaves numerous nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews, and many, many friends.

His funeral will be Monday, November 8, from the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 2599 Cranberry Highway (Rt. 28), Wareham at 9 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Patrick’s Church, High St., Wareham at 10 a.m. Interment will be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Wareham. Visiting hours will be on Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m.