3-Term Northport Mayor Wayne Rose Dies at 75

Wayne Rose, the three-term mayor of Northport who led the city from 1988 until 2000, died Monday at the age of 75.

Rose's daughter, Whitney Rose DuBose, shared the news on social media Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Tuscaloosa Area Virtual Museum, Rose's uncle George Rose served two terms mayor of Northport in the 1960s and 1970s and Wayne Rose followed in his footsteps by running for a seat on the city council in 1976.

His election kicked off decades of public service, including two nonconcurrent four-year terms on the council, three consecutive terms as mayor and a brief stint back on the council in 2018 after the death of an incumbent councilman.

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The civic titan also ran Rose Lumber Company, Inc. a small hardwood sawmill in Northport for nearly 50 years.

"Wayne was the center of our family," Whitney Rose DuBose wrote on Facebook. "His loves in life were: his family, the City of Northport, and sawmilling and probably not in that particular order."

Rose DuBose said a public visitation will be held Friday at Sunset Funeral Home from 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. with a private family burial to follow Saturday.

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon expressed his condolences Tuesday afternoon and said he has ordered the flags outside City Hall to fly at half-staff in Rose's memory.

"Wayne's passing is a  great loss for our community," Herndon said. "He spent many, many years in office serving the people, he had a heart for the city and we're going to miss him."