Rose Marie Pearson bio

Rose Marie Pearson was born in Macon, Georgia, on November 12, 1967. Her parents, James and Marjorie Brown, were high school sweethearts and married after graduation. James worked at the Robert Findley Iron Works, and Marjorie worked at the local Five & Dime until Rose was born.

Rose's parents were big fans of Elvis and played his music all the time. Even as a baby, Rose went to sleep to the sound of Elvis's records. As she was growing up, she became obsessed with Elvis, and her high school teachers said that Rose couldn't even give a report without mentioning Elvis in it somewhere.

Rose had a few boyfriends in high school, but nothing serious. She slept with Elvis every night. As his music played, she would dance around the room. In her mind, she was dancing with the King.

When Elvis died, Rose stayed home from school for more than a week. Family friends say she was never the same afterward, and her parents were worried that she would never be able to take care of herself.

Those fears were eased when Rose met an older man who was smitten with her sweet and gentle nature. After only a few months, he asked for Rose's hand in marriage, and she said yes.

Raymond Pearson and Rose married on June 8, 1986, but the marriage was short-lived. Raymond had a massive heart attack and passed away on December 10, 1986. Raymond had been a wealthy man, so James and Marjorie knew they didn't have to worry about their daughter's financial future. Rose has not dated anyone since Raymond's death.

Rose's neighbors think highly of her, but all agree on one point: Rose is sweet and charming as long as no one challenges her. When anyone disagrees with her, she becomes enraged and begins stuttering as she defends her position. Her best friend, Mavis Sue Barnes, attributes Rose's quick temper to her parents' reluctance to impose any rules or discipline on their daughter when she was growing up.

When Rose learned that a man named Jared Plunk planned to say negative things about Elvis at a conference in Oxford, she sobbed. According to Mavis, something in Rose snapped that day.

Mavis said Rose started to have trouble sleeping, a condition that didn't improve until Rose decided to go to the conference as an Elvis tribute artist and confront Plunk, though Rose wouldn't say how she planned to do that. The day Rose left for Oxford, Mavis took her to the airport, hoping to learn her friend's plan, but Rose only smiled.