Renowned New Hope photographer Jack Rosen has died at the age of 83.

Rosen died Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. at his home in the borough, said his son, Rick Rosen.

In failing health in recent years, Rosen suffered from bladder cancer and emphysema, brought on by a lifetime of smoking, his son said. His family was able to care for him at home thanks to the support of Doylestown Hospital's hospice program, he said.

“I cannot say enough good things about them,” Rosen said. “They absolutely made it easier for us to care for him at home.”

Rosen's passing will be mourned by many in this riverside borough, where he had lived for more than 50 years.

“He was an icon to this community,” said Herb Millman. “He was as much of a landmark to New Hope as any structure.”

Millman, co-owner of Cockamamie's collectibles on West Bridge Street and past president of the borough's chamber of commerce, said Rosen would be sorely missed.

“He can't be replaced,” Millman said.

Rosen's career behind a camera lens stretched over 60 years and has left behind a wealth of photographs documenting historical events such as reactions to the Kennedy assassination and protests of the Vietnam War, portraits of celebrities such as Grace Kelly and Jim Morrison, and ordinary moments from everyday life.

Longtime friend John Larsen, of New Hope's mainstay John & Peter's, credited Rosen's photographic success to a keen instinct for real life, honed by his time in the news business.

“What makes his work so unique is he never forgot that he was a photojournalist,” Larsen said. “No photograph was ever posed. The construction of his photographs was really quite amazing, because they were not posed and they were still artistic. Some studio photographers fail at that.”

Rosen was born in South Philadelphia and served in World War II in England and France. After marrying his wife, Florence, in 1950, the couple bought a house in the newly opened Levittown in Bucks County.

He first discovered New Hope in the 1960s, on assignment for the Bucks County Traveler magazine. A decade later, the family moved there. He edited the newsweekly the New Hope Gazette from 1971 to 1976.

For nearly three decades, Jack Rosen could be found wandering the streets of New Hope, two cameras slung around his neck, looking for the next great shot.

Over the years, Rosen's work appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Life, Paris Match, Der Stern, Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal. He also wrote two photo books, “The Family Album,” a collection of New Hope portraits, and “The Face of Bucks,” a celebration of the 300th anniversary of Bucks County.

Those famous photos were the only ones the public saw. But Rosen's son said there are so many more where those came from.

“The way my father worked was he would take his film, choose the one print he liked, and the rest of the negs went boom, into a box,” Rick Rosen said. “In a room in my parents' house are well over half a million negatives that have never seen the light of day. What I will personally be doing with the rest of my life will be cataloging and going through the rest of my father's work, and the public at large can look forward to "new' Jack Rosen photographs.”

There was more to Rosen then photography, however. Like most journalists, Rosen was interested in everything.

“He was very erudite. He could wax eloquent on any number of things, surprisingly even opera,” said Larsen. “He was incredibly funny. He read a lot, and could talk about jazz, all kinds of music, anything. He was just a very special guy.”

Special, though, doesn't necessarily mean “sunny.”

“My dad was not always real happy with life. This guy could give graduate courses in curmudgeon,” Rick Rosen said, chuckling a little.

In addition to his wife, Florence, and son Rick, Rosen is survived by his daughters Keri Rosen and Lisa Rosen Orrell, son-in-law Michael Orrell, and grandchildren Nori, Rose, Cody and Tessa Orrell, and Marika Luiso.

Rosen's body was donated to the Humanity Gifts Registry, which coordinates the body donor program for all medical teaching institutions in Pennsylvania.

In accordance with his wishes, no funeral service will be held. Plans for a memorial service are still pending.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks “that you do something nice for somebody in Jack's memory.”