Roll Call Tribute

A. Farrell Rose
January 29, 1937 – March 18, 2022

ADOLF FARRELL ROSE, age 85, of Helena, walked through heaven’s gates on March 18, 2022 at 1:07pm. Farrell accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior at the age of 9 in a Southern Baptist Church. The Lord was good to him and he lived a rich, full and blessed life.

Farrell was born January 29, 1937 in Waco, Texas to Adolf Frederick Rose and Lela (Honey) Pauline Rose. While in high school and college, Farrell worked every summer on the Old Climbing Arrow Ranch in Three Forks, Montana.

He graduated from Texas A&M College with a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture (Ranch Management) in 1960. He was a member of the corps at A&M and graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force. He served seven years in the reserves and was promoted to captain.

In his junior year of college, Farrell met Baylor beauty, Nancy Sue Whitaker on a blind date. They married two years later and spent their honeymoon in Montana. He moved his bride from Kilgore, Texas to Three Forks, Montana in 1960. He worked showing registered Hereford cattle and after a year purchased some registered angus cows and began his lifetime dream of owning his own cattle ranch. He leased a small ranch in Three Forks and to help earn a living, he also worked as a night Marshall, an assistant veterinarian, and at the talc mill. In 1964, he was offered a job at the Whitehall State Bank so he moved his family, cows, and horses and leased a ranch in Whitehall. After a few years of hail storms, Farrell left ranching, but kept his horses and moved to Glendive to become the county supervisor of the Farmers Home Administration. He worked in Polson, Missoula, Choteau, Glendive, and Helena in this capacity.

In 1978, Farrell bought The Adit, a weekly paper and enjoyed ten years of serving Helena residents. He employed his wife and both of his daughters. He became a member of the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers and enjoyed doing farm and ranch appraisals and working with area ranchers. He obtained his private plane license and used it to help with his appraisal of ranches. After selling The Adit, Farrell continued his Rose Appraisal & Real Estate business in Helena until 2008 when he retired.

His hobbies included riding and breaking quarter horses, maintaining a small farm in Townsend, buying bulls and horses at auctions with his grandchildren, raising red angus cattle on his state lease, raising pheasants and canaries, reading and watching westerns, attending church every Sunday, attending grandchildren’s sporting events, going to lunch at Jorgensen’s with the boys, playing cards at hunting camp, and eating ice cream and playing bingo with the loving staff at The Masonic Home of Helena. He was a gentle loving husband, dad, and pawpaw who had the courage to risk, to dream, and to not be afraid of failure.

Farrell is survived by his wife, Nancy; a brother, Donald (Dianna) Rose; his children, Lisa (Vince) Justice and Melanie (Darwin) Sharbono; four grandchildren, Stephanie (Allan) Goebel, Jacob (Kalli) Sharbono, Carly Sharbono, and Anna Justice; and four great-grandchildren Andre Victor Lee Goebel, Leela Maria Danielle Goebel, Daxton Allin Whit Goebel, and Loryn Sue Sharbono; his beloved nephew and niece Lloyd and Jamie.

A service celebrating Farrell’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 30th at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 3750 N. Montana Ave. A reception will follow the service in the social hall of the funeral home. Burial will follow the reception at Forestvale Cemetery.