Obituary of Richard C. Rosbrook

Kinderhook- Richard C. “Dick” Rosbrook of Kinderhook, NY passed away Saturday, December 30th with his daughters and grandchildren at his side.  He was 79 years young.  Born May 19, 1944 in Albany, NY to Alden and Pauline Rosbrook, Richard, also known throughout his life as Richie, Roz and Dick, grew up in East Greenbush, NY, the youngest of three boys. This made for a pretty rambunctious household, and the tales of staple gun fights and practical jokes are legendary.  Dick was a 1962 graduate of Columbia High School and thoroughly enjoyed attending his school reunions and more recently, helping plan their class get-togethers.  Upon graduation, he attended Siena College as a business major.  While working between classes at Central Market, Dick met his future bride, Katherine Warrington. Dick and Kathy wed in 1966 and had three daughters who were the lights of their lives, Kelly Rosbrook-Firmbach, Shannon Rosbrook (Stephen Devine) and Colleen Bates (Kevin), a son-in-law, Rudy Firmbach (Denise Hall) and the absolute constant source of their pride and joy, their grandchildren, Ryan and Allyson Firmbach.  They were married for 49 years at the time of Kathy’s passing in December of 2015, and we are so grateful they now get to begin their 50th year together.  Along with his children and grandchildren, Dick is survived by his sisters-in-law, Brenda Warrington, MaryJane Stillman and Patricia Warrington, and his most  loyal, spoiled companions—his labradoodle, Vince and his golden doodle, Blanche, who are already lost without him. In addition to Kathy, he was predeceased by his brothers, Frederick and Alden, his brothers-in-law, James Stillman and Robert Warrington, his great-nephew, Ethan Perry and his niece, Emily Warrington. Dick spent his entire working career with New York Telephone Company and all subsequent variations thereof—NYNEX, BellAtlantic and finally Verizon; retiring after 37 years in November of 2003.  Wanting to break up his retirement a bit, he started working part time for Kinderhook Toyota, running the roads with his buddy Ross Cox, delivering vehicles to other dealers in the Northeast region. His Toyota team became family to Dick; he surely will miss hanging in Josh and Billy’s offices and teasing the crew at the desk. In his spare time, Dick was a volunteer at the Valatie Ecumenical Food Pantry, and he rarely missed whatever home game was being played at Ichabod Crane; he was a regular attendee and could always be seen in the stands with his buddies, Pat DiGrigoli and Bob Benson. If Dick had any love other than for his family and friends at home and work, it was for music. In his younger years, he played cornet for many seasons with the Interstatesmen Drum and Bugle Corps. In later years, once his children were grown, he decided to learn to play the bagpipes and joined the Albany Police Pipes and Drums (City of Albany Pipe Band) in 1988. He became their Drum Major in 2000, and in his final years with the band, decided to learn and play a snare drum when his grandson joined the band as a drummer in 2014.  His love for the band is eternal.  In that vein, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the City of Albany Pipe Band at https://gofund.me/1d9c73fc, or to the Valatie Ecumenical Food Pantry, P.O. Box 266 Valatie, NY 12184-0267 or to Ichabod Crane Central School’s Booster Club via their Facebook page. 

Arrangements are being handled by Dick Gagnon, with the W.J. Lyons, Jr. Funeral Home, 1700 Washington Avenue, Rensselaer, NY 12144. Please join us for calling hours at the funeral home on Friday, January 5 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. The funeral mass will be held on Saturday, January 6 at 1:15 p.m., at St. John the Baptist Church, Valatie.  Burial will follow at St. John the Baptist Cemetery.