Guenter H. Rose died on January 12, 2022, in Vista, California.
(The following was provided by family)
Guenter H. Rose, Associate Professor of Psychology and Psychobiology Emeritus
Guenter H. Rose, Ph.D., 86, passed away peacefully on January 12, 2022, in Vista, CA, after a lengthy battle with Lewy Body Dementia. He was surrounded by family who adored him.
He was born May 6, 1935, to John and Elly Rose in Englewood, New Jersey. He grew up in Attleboro, Massachusetts, graduating from Attleboro High School, and furthering his education with an undergraduate degree from Tufts University, a master’s degree from Brown University, and a Ph.D from UCLA, where he was involved with The Brain Institute.
Guenter was a pioneering psycho-biologist, holding positions at the University of Nebraska, UCLA, and Bowdoin College, where he was a member of the psychology department established and chaired the Department of Psychobiology (now the Neuroscience Department). He had a lifelong fascination for the relationship between the brain and the body. He was adored by his students. In his mid-80s, he re-invented himself as a medical anthropologist, winning a Fulbright grant which took him to Nepal and Sri Lanka to meet with traditional healers and learn from them about ayurvedic medicine. Here he launched “Nepal Explorations” tours. He was somewhat of entrepreneur; in addition to the tours in Nepal, he also operated the Samuel Newman house, a bed-and-breakfast establishment in Brunswick, and “Auspicious Antiques” where he sold and traded items from his mask collection. He loved jazz, especially the music of John Coltrane. He loved dogs, Maine and Mainers, swap meets, and antiquing: old tools and gadgets, furniture, and traveling inkwells. He also loved traveling and amassed an amazing collection of traditional sculpture and masks from West Africa and South Asia. He was an activist for peace and social justice.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Deborah J. Rose, his second wife, Sonya O. Rose, a son, Dana C. Rose, and a stepson, Marc Orleans. He is survived by two sons, Mark Rose (wife Debbie) and Shawn Rose (wife Jackie); a daughter, Jennifer R. Villafana Benitez (husband Nestor); a sister, Innes Rose Brady (husband Terrance); a stepdaughter, Laura Orleans-York (husband Charlie); eleven grandchildren Rhian Agopian, Michael and Justin Macias, Blake, Cole, and Kara Rose, Christopher Rose, Alina and Ashley Scott and Blanca and Vanessa Villafana; three great-grandchildren; Gavin Rey and Layla Rose Macias, and Natalie Villasenor; and nephews Peter Swanson (wife Kimberly) and Kurt Swanson (wife Carmen).
A zoom video celebration of his life will be announced at a later date. Those wishing to join the service may contact his son Mark Rose at mrose300@yahoo.com
From: President Rose <rose@bowdoin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2022 2:17 PM
Subject: Guenter Herbert Rose (1935–2022)
To faculty and staff,
It is my sad duty to inform the Bowdoin community of the passing of Guenter H. Rose, associate professor of psychology and psychobiology emeritus, on January 12, 2022, in Vista, California, after a long battle with Lewy body dementia.
Guenter Rose was born on May 6, 1935, in Englewood, New Jersey. He grew up in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and graduated from Attleboro High School. He earned a BS degree cum laude from Tufts University in behavioral biology and ethology in 1958, an ScM in 1960 from Brown University in experimental child psychology, and a PhD in physiological psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1965. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Brain Institute at UCLA, Guenter joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha and as a member of the graduate faculty at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he continued his research into the complex relationships between developmental biology of the brain and behavior. He returned to UCLA in the early 1970s as a research psychologist and as an associate professor of psychiatry.
In 1976 Guenter accepted a position as assistant professor of psychology at Bowdoin, where his interest in the nexus of psychology and biology created opportunities for interdisciplinary research and teaching. This led to the establishment at the College of a concentration in psychobiology (the forerunner to the neuroscience program). He was promoted to associate professor in 1981 and chaired the psychology department. He was the author or coauthor of numerous articles on the electrocortical responses of the brain and spinal cord to visual and auditory stimuli in laboratory animals. In addition to his publications, Guenter presented his research as an invited panelist and lecturer and at national and international conferences. He was a popular teacher at Bowdoin, and a number of his students elected to pursue careers in psychology and neuroscience. He became interested in the field of medical anthropology in the 1980s and received a Fulbright grant to study traditional healers in Nepal and Sri Lanka and learn about Ayurvedic medicine. He retired in 1995 as associate professor of psychology and psychobiology emeritus.
Guenter’s curiosity and broad interests led him to launch a business that offered tours of Nepal. He operated a bed-and-breakfast (the Samuel Newman House) where Chamberlain Hall now stands. He collected traditional sculptures and masks from Africa and South Asia, and he was knowledgeable about a wide range of antiques. In recent years he lived in Michigan, London, Florida, and California.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Deborah J. Rose, his second wife, Sonya O. Rose, a son, Dana C. Rose, and his stepson, Marc Orleans. He is survived by two sons, Mark Rose (and his wife, Debbie) and Shawn Rose (and his wife, Jackie); a daughter, Jennifer R. Villafana Benitez (and her husband, Nestor); a sister, Innes Rose Brady (and her husband, Terrance); a stepdaughter, Laura Orleans-York (and her husband, Charlie); eleven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial service on Zoom will be announced at a later date. Those wishing to participate in the celebration of life may contact Guenter’s son Mark Rose at mrose300@yahoo.com.
We share with Guenter’s family and friends a deep sense of loss at his passing, and we celebrate his lifelong love of learning and his generosity of spirit.
Sincerely,
Clayton