Art Rozier

Art Rozier, a dear friend to so many of us, passed away suddenly yesterday.  I am sorry to bring such tragic news.  I will post more information as it becomes available.

I had started today thinking about 25 Meter Center Fire Pistol and how lucky we were to be around Art, as Art was always challenging us at competitions to shoot better, usually by organizing International competitions like Free Pistol and Standard Pistol, in addition to running Bullseye matches. He was also good at herding us into helping the ROTC shooters. 

I was shocked to hear the news earlier as yesterday I had started practicing in preparation for the Lt Joseph D. Helton Jr Regional Match.

The whole Georgia BE community is in shock.. Lost a truly fine man,  way too early.

Some of you may remember Art from his Air Force shooting days. I will remember him for his dedication to the young men and women of our local community's Air Force Jr. ROTC serving as their commander and mentor.

RIP Art

This is the first I’ve heard of this. I am very sorry to hear of his passing. Thoughts and prayers to his friends and family. I met him at the GA regionals in April of 2018. He was a kind person. Nice to talk to.

Sorry to hear that.  Art shot with us here at SWGC when he was stationed in NC.  He was always trying to get more guys to shoot and participate.  We are diminished with his passing.  My condolences to his family.  

CR

Way too young, if it's the same person I'm thinking of.

Art was a Distinguished Shooter in Rifle, Service Pistol and .22 EIC. He was a Master in Bullseye (NRA Precision Pistol) and most importantly a great Mentor and Leader.

August of 2015, I became interested in shooting pistol and found his contact info on the website, I called and he encouraged me/invited me to shoot in the match he was running Sunday…. 11 miles from my house. I showed up with a Ruger .22 MKII and shakey  hands. I shot the .22 portion of the 2700. He was very kind and supportive of me even with my dismal performance. I stuck with pistol shooting and he followed my progress at Local, Regional and the National Matches…. “hey I see you got points at Perry….good job” even when the four points were from the SAFS…. I was surprised and encouraged that he even cared to look at the results… but that’s how he was, always cheering for the up and coming.

Art ran the Monthly Matches at the South River Gun Club; he was also the Commander of the ROTC Unit at Monroe HS, GA. He will be sorely missed in the shooting community in Georgia. A Retired Air Force Lt. Col., America lost a true Patriot.
RIP Art

I shot with Art in San Antonio, back in the day, when Ralph Talbot ran the matches at Camp Bullis. At the time, Art and I were pretty close in skill levels. I always enjoyed the match when he showed up. I think Art was a captain back then. My sincere condolences to his friends and family. May the Lord have mercy on his soul

Art's relatives have made the decision to have him cremated and to take him back to North Carolina.  No decision has been made on a funeral service.  The school where he taught, Monroe Area High School, is planning to have a memorial service for him, but the dates have not been set.

There will be a graveside service for Art on Saturday, January 19 at the Gardens of Faith cemetery in Lumberton, NC at 11:00am.  Family and friends are welcome.

In lieu of flowers and cards, the family has requested that donations be made to the Lt. Helton Memorial Foundation (https://ltheltonfoundation.ngpvanhost.com/donate).  As many of you know, Art was a major supporter of the Helton Foundation, with whom he worked on a number of events (including the Regional), and he'd be most pleased and proud to be remembered this way.

There will be a Memorial Service for Art on Sunday, January 27 at 3:00pm at the Grace Baptist Church in Monroe GA.  The address for the church is 1025 East Spring Street, Monroe, GA 30655, the phone number is 770/266-1013.  In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Lt. Helton Memorial Foundation.