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Joan Rosenthal Obituary
Greenville - Age 85, passed away Saturday, January 11, 2020.
Joan was born on June 6, 1934 in Brooklyn, NY to the late Ann Finley Langer and Sydney Langer. She grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1954.
Joan met the love of her life, Joe, at the wedding of her best friend, Shirley, to Joe's brother, Irving. They were married on June 27, 1954, and celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last summer.
Joan was a brilliant woman, deeply committed to equality and social justice. She and Joe were among the handful of volunteers who founded what became the Delaware affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1961. Joan went on to serve as the Administrative Director from 1978 to 1982 and Executive Director from 1982 to 1986. She also served on the national Board of Directors of the ACLU. Joan was honored for her commitment to civil rights and justice by the Delaware Bar Association in 1985 with the Liberty Bell Award, it's highest honor to an individual who is not a lawyer or a judge, for outstanding service to the community. She and Joe were also honored together by the ACLU with the Kandler Award in 1996 for making an indelible mark as advocates and defenders of civil liberties.
Joan was a passionate advocate for reproductive freedom and served for many years on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood of Delaware. She and Joe were honored for their leadership in the organization's reproductive health and rights efforts with the Margaret Sanger Award in 2004.
Joan's work with the ACLU of Delaware and Planned Parenthood impacted generations of Delawareans; the honors she received recognizing that dedication were perhaps her proudest moments.
In addition to being a fierce champion for the causes and people she believed in, Joan was a voracious reader and had an astounding breadth of knowledge about everything from opera to geology. She was also a very talented singer and actor. Joan particularly loved singing and acting in the Ardensingers' productions of Gilbert & Sullivan's operettas, performing lead roles in H.M.S. Pinafore, Ruddigore, Patience, and The Gondoliers. Not surprisingly, her favorite theatrical role was in Lysistrata, Aristophanes' comical paean to feminist activists, exemplified by people like herself.
Joan is survived by her husband of 65 years, Joe; children, Ted Rosenthal (Kate) and Ellin Rosenthal (Ron Faleide); grandchildren, Jaren Faleide (Christina Schofield), Matthew Rosenthal, and Ali Rosenthal; and sister, Elinor Langer (Marty Zwick). She also leaves nephews Stephen, Stuart, Dan and Michael.
A visitation will be 11:00 am followed by a memorial service at 12:00 pm, Saturday, January 18, 2020 in the chapel at Country House, 4830 Kennett Pike, Greenville, DE 19807. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Joan's memory to Planned Parenthood of Delaware, 625 N. Shipley Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
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Memories and Condolences
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1 Entry
Colette O Hora (nee Haran)
December 20, 2020
In the summer of 1971, while attending a Summer course for Irish teachers, I had the honour, and the pleasure of spending a number of weekends as a guest of Joan and Joe, R.I.P. Their welcome, warmth and kindness to me as a very young teacher was never forgotten. I has the pleasure of receiving them both into my home in Ireland some years later when I was a very young mother. We exchanged Christmas cards every year since, keeping abreast of family events. I felt last year, the absence of their card and only recently sadly found their obituaries on line. Ellin and Teddy,please accept my deepest condolences on the deaths of your beloved and very special parents.
God bless,
Colette
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