Interview With Curt Rosentreter, Secretary/Treasurer           

Where are you from? 

Answer— I am originally from the Midwest, born and raised in a small town in Illinois about 60 miles from St. Louis, MO where my father was a soft drink bottler and distributor.  You could say I grew up in a bottling plant.

I attended college at the University of Illinois, graduating with a degree in Accounting (now that may explain a lot).  I earned a masters degree in business administration at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

My wife, Jane, and I met while I was attending the U of I and we were married at the beginning of my senior year.  We have three great children; Gregg in Salt Lake City, Paula in Chicago and Ellen in North Hollywood.

What is your work experience?

Answer—My career in the retail food /drug sector spanned 35 years.  Following college I went to work for Jewel Food Stores and Osco Drug Stores in Chicago, starting in accounting where I spent several years in various assignments and then moving into compensation and employee benefit administration.  After our parent company was acquired by American Stores Company in Salt Lake City, Jane and I relocated and I became involved in human resources administration at the corporate level.  During this time, I did a 2 year stint in Southern California working in Anaheim and Irvine before returning to Utah.  Some of the store names I was involved with that you might recognize are Skaggs Drug Stores, Skaggs Alpha Beta, Sav-on Drug Stores, and Lucky Stores

How did you get into the Cemetery Business?

Answer—In 2000 American Stores Company was merged with Albertson’s in Boise.  Not wanting to relocate to Boise, I decided to retire with the intent of looking for something that interested me.   I did spend a year with Albertson’s assisting with the wind down of the Salt Lake office.

Bud Mease and I have been friends for a number of years and after about six months he approached me and indicated he was planning to retire from Mt. Calvary a few months later and thought I should consider replacing him.  I did, and as they say, “the rest is history”.

What is it you like about CCW?

Answer—First, the people!  They are friendly, welcoming, open, and helpful.  That includes cemetarians and suppliers.  Next is the forum.  I like the sharing of issues, ideas and solutions that our annual conference affords, but I know that I can call on any member when I have question.  Lastly, I like the regional commonality, which also brings about a smaller group, yet large enough for diversity of ideas.

What do you like to do when you are not doing cemetery work?

Answer—I am the house handy man.  I enjoy yard work and landscaping.  Woodworking is somewhat of a hobby.  I have tried golf, but it did not like me.  I am not an avid sports fan, but I do like the Utah Jazz and I track the Chicago Cubs and Chicago’s other team (my e-mail is 2bearsfans@comcast.net).  I know, there’s always next year though.