Aaron Rosewater

Aaron was that rare, rare man who received all the greatest gifts that God could bestow. He was a brilliant polymath, equally adept in the world of statistics, the arts, and culture both high and low. He was a Shakespeare scholar who also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of comic books, pop culture, film history… and yes, history in general. He was a trained artist who could easily have been a professional in that field. He was a gifted musician who played guitar as a hobby, but with his signature depth and passion. An example: he loved to meet with his theater loving friends each year for a week of camping in Oregon for the Shakespeare festival. One year he decided he would provide campfire entertainment by learning and playing the entire Beatles catalog. But Aaron, being a perfectionist, was not satisfied with the chord structures of the songs that were presented to him in the books he bought or what he could find online - none of them were strictly accurate. So before learning each song, he first corrected each incorrect chord. We, his family all depended upon him as our living bank of endless knowledge about just about everything under the sun.

That was his brain. But then there was his spirit. His heart.

Aaron was the most even tempered of men. There was no trace of meanness in him anywhere.

He gave his family the gift of a warm, steady, generous love that created a nest of protective nurturance. He lived in a household that operated as a foster home for over sixty small, high strung dogs over the course of twenty years, and his gentle manner set them all at ease. He was a doting father whose great pleasure in life was spending time with his son Emile and his daughter-in -law Natalia. He adored Christmas, and would spend months carefully selecting gifts that would bring the greatest joy to those closest to him. He was a faithful, loving and appreciative husband who never spoke an ugly word in decades of married life.

His great passion was running the family business, Levin and Company Books. His job was a joy to him, and he delighted in creating a carefully curated selection of books, music, games and puzzles, and in interacting with his many friends in the community. People loved him, because he loved them.

He is survived by his mother Adele, wife Gwen, son Emile and Daughter in law Natalia, and his beloved cousins Greg and Keith.

There will be a memorial service, the date yet to be determined.

Published in Healdsburg Tribune · April 10, 2025