A great neighbor
Every neighborhood needs a Jose Rosado. He’s mild-mannered, generous with his time, keeps an eye on everyone and everything, yet he’s not a busybody. Four of his neighbors on the 100 blocks of East Crown and East Everett avenues nominated him for The Spokesman-Review North Side Good Neighbor award. After all, Rosado has done so much for them. From planning birthday parties to picking up mail and newspapers for vacationing neighbors, Rosado is the guy. When snow needs to be cleared from sidewalks, he doesn’t think twice.
He and his wife of 12 years, Jean, also host a summer barbecue and Christmas dinner. Their holiday guests leave with a long-stemmed rose or a bottle of wine.
When Rosado was told he won the contest, he reacted in typical Jose style: low-keyed and gracious.
“It’s nice,” Rosado said. “Personally, what I do for my neighbors is because I like my neighbors. You live close by, you want to be friendly.”
Rosado, 55, has been working for the city Water Department for more than 27 years. A native of Puerto Rico, he moved here from the San Francisco Bay Area 30 years ago. He’s been living in his small, two-story East Everett Avenue home for the past 13 years. The neighborhood is made up of many people who have lived there long before NorthTown Mall was nothing more than some retail stores.
Some of the residents, such as Becky Hedgcock and Marlys McEwen, are widows. Another, like Sharon Jensen, often finds herself home alone because her husband, Bruce, is a truck driver. Rosado keeps an eye on the women.
“He’s the ‘can-do man,’ ” Hedgcock wrote in her nomination letter, which was signed by McEwen, Jensen and Rosado’s elderly next-door-neighbor Eleanor Donohue, who has since moved.
Before Donohue moved to the West Side to be with family, Rosado would take her to her doctor’s appointments and bring her a home-cooked meal on Sunday nights. When Bruce Jensen is gone, Rosado does light grocery shopping for his wife, Sharon. She’s never out of milk.
His latest good deed has been mowing Hedgcock’s lawn.
“She lost the person she hired, and the grass was getting too tall,” Rosado said. “It’s no big deal.”
However, Rosado’s signature act of kindness is the “surprise” birthday parties that he throws for some unsuspecting neighbor.
“It’s almost like a running gag,” he said. “I like to see who I can get.”
His annual summer barbecue also has a catch to it. Rosado calls it the grill-it-yourself party. Others may call it an icebreaker.
“I get the hot coals, I give them the steaks, and they grill the way they like it. It’s a good way to get everybody involved,” said Rosado.
The next outing will be all about Rosado, as the neighbors gather for a party catered by The Spokesman-Review. It’s part of his prize for winning the Good Neighbor Contest.
“The only payment he gets is an occasional dozen cookies and our heartfelt gratitude,” Hedgcock wrote. “Not just a Good Neighbor, but a Great Neighbor!”