Harold A. "Hal" ROSENBLUM

ROSENBLUM, Harold A. ("Hal")


Harold A. ("Hal") Rosenblum, 90, formerly of Sharon, PA, died on Thursday, August 15, 2013 in Farmington, Connecticut. Mr. Rosenblum was born on January 5, 1923 in Sharon, Pennsylvania to H. David and Carol Thaler Rosenblum and resided in Farrell and Sharon his entire life. In 1943, he graduated with an A.B. degree cum laude from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Rosenblum served as a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II, landing in Normandy and participating in the invasion of France in June 1944. After his honorable discharge, he graduated from Harvard Law School in 1949. He worked for thirty-five years in the Rosenblum family wholesale grocery distribution business, Golden Dawn Foods, Inc. (later, Sharon division of Peter J. Schmitt Co.), serving as the President and Chairman of the board of directors until his retirement in 1985. Mr. Rosenblum was married for 55 years to Irene R. Rosenblum, who predeceased him in June 2005. In death as in life, Hal remained steadfastly devoted to Irene. Mr. Rosenblum was also preceded in death by his daughter, Ruth Celia Rosenblum, and by his brother, Paul A. Rosenblum. In 1985, Mr. Rosenblum was named Person of the Year by the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce, and he was also the Buhl Park Foundation Honoree that year. For many years, Mr. Rosenblum was a member of and the Chairman of the board of directors of the Sharon Regional Health System (formerly Sharon General Hospital), one of the achievements of which he was most proud. In recognition of his 45 years of selfless service, in April 2010 the conference room at SRHS's Diagnostic and Imaging Center in Hermitage was officially named the Rosenblum Conference Room in his honor. For many decades, Mr. Rosenblum was a well-known philanthropist and tireless civic volunteer. Over the years, he actively participated in over 40 community organizations. In addition to his volunteer work for the SRHS, Mr. Rosenblum served several terms as President and as a long-standing board member of Temple Beth Israel, Sharon. He also served as the Chairman of the Board of the Shenango Valley Community Food Warehouse and the Shenango Valley Human Relations Commission. He was on the board of directors of the Mercer County Education and Rehabilitation Center and the Mercer County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association. Mr. Rosenblum was a charter member of the Pennsylvania Freedom of Choice in Family Planning Association and served on the executive committees of the Mercer County Chapter of the NAACP and of the Shenango Valley Urban League. He was a member of the Shenango Valley Jewish Federation, the Mercer County Drug and Alcohol Commission, the Rotary Club, the F.H. Buhl Club and many other organizations too numerous to mention. In the 1970's, Mr. Rosenblum actively participated in the community theater company "Playhouse 600," where he starred in such productions as "Born Yesterday," "The Seven Year Itch," and "The Fantasticks." Surviving are Mr. Rosenblum's remaining four children and their spouses: Julia M. Rosenblum and her husband, R. Leonard Felson, of West Hartford, Connecticut; Mark A. Rosenblum and his wife, Lisa DeRenzo, also of West Hartford; Lee S. Rosenblum and his wife, Gail Kushner, of Tucson, Arizona; and Joel N. Rosenblum and his wife, Gail Wright, of Boulder, Colorado; his ten grandchildren: Rachel, David and Ben Felson; Carrie, Anne and Sarah Rosenblum; Amy and Diana Rosenblum; and Aaron and Lorna Rosenblum. Also surviving are Mr. Rosenblum's brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Louis Rosenblum and Lya Dym Rosenblum, Chicago, Illinois; sister-in-law, Miriam Rosenblum, Jerusalem, Israel; and sister-in-law, Florence Rosen, of Silver Spring, Maryland; and several first cousins. The Rosenblum family wishes to acknowledge and thank special friends, Paula and Carl Moses, Sharon, for their years of devoted friendship and concern for both Irene's and Hal's well-being.
Funeral services and interment will be conducted for Mr. Rosenblum at the Sample & O'Donnell Funeral Home, 555 East State St., Sharon, PA on Sunday, August 18, 2013 at 2 P.M., with Rabbi Franklin W. Muller officiating. Interment will follow at Temple Beth Israel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mr. Rosenblum's memory may be made to the Buhl Park Foundation, 715 Hazen Road, Hermitage, Pennsylvania. May his memory be a source of strength and a blessing. Local arrangements provided by Hebrew Funeral Association, West Hartford.