Rose Austin Obituary

Celebration of Life for Beclabito, New Mexico and Cortez, Colorado resident, Rose Lynn Austin will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at Ertel Memorial Chapel. Appetizers and drinks will be available during the celebration. Pastor David Ramsey will officiate.

Rose, a member of the Navajo Nation was born March 17, 1941 at her home in Manuelito, New Mexico, into the Bitter Water clan and for the Mexican People Clan. She was the 2nd child of 13 and the daughter of Fred and Lenita (Thomas) Adakai. She passed away on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at Bloomfield Nursing and Rehabilitation in Bloomfield, New Mexico. at the age of 83.

Rose graduated from Scottsdale High School in 1961 and she married her high school sweetheart, Frank Austin in May 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona. They moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico the Fall of 1970 where they both decided to move to Cortez, Colorado (to be near Mesa Verde National Park) to start their business, "Nizhonie Fabrics" showcasing her husband Frank's "Bahah Zhonie" artwork. Rose attended San Juan Regional Vocation School in Cortez, Colorado for bookkeeping, typing, and clerical business classes to help start the business alongside her husband Frank.

Frank was a Navajo artist and Textile Designer. The name "Nizhonie" meaning "beautiful and bountiful" in Navajo was chosen to describe both the product and the operation which manufactured and marketed silk screen textile designs. Nizhonie Fabrics was recognized for their silk screen textile design by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

In the early 1990's, Frank and Rose decided to move to Beclabito, New Mexico and their business from Cortez to "Four Corners National Monument" to sell Frank's artwork to visiting tourists from all over the world.

Rose, expanded her linguistic horizons by learning seven "conversational" languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Italian, Spanish, and German. She found inspiration in the unexpected, and her encounters with tourists at the Four Corners Monument became opportunities for language exchange and growth. The tourists were surprised and delighted by Rose's linguistic abilities and eagerly taught her more phases in their native languages. Through these interactions, Rose not only honed her language skills but also formed meaningful connections with people from around the world.

Surviving Rose are her children, Camellia "Cammie" Austin-Bilo (Alan Bilo) of Cortez, CO, Dwayne Austin (Anne Douglas) of Austin, TX, and Tanya Shaben (Bill) of Phoenix, AZ; by her grandchildren, Krystle Goodenough (Tyler) of Fort Collins, CO, Melissa Shaben of Phoenix, AZ, Eric Shaben of Phoenix, AZ, and Elizabeth Herl (Connor) of Phoenix, AZ; by her brothers, Patrick Adakai of Tijeras, NM, Justin Adakai of Manuelito, NM; and by her sister, Pauline Myers of Farmington, NM.

Rose is preceded in death by her husband, Frank Austin; her parents, Fred and Lenita Adakai; her brothers, Frank Adakai, Jerry R. Adakai, Alvin Adakai, and Paul Adakai; her sisters, Stella Adakai, Bessie Johnson, Louise Adakai Lucero, Anita Adakai and Anna Aarseth.

Services are being conducted through Ertel Funeral Home. To send condolences or to view the full obituary, log on to www.ertelfuneralhome.com and click on the obituary section.