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Joseph Rosenthal Obituary
Greenville - Age 88, passed away Sunday, September 27, 2020.
Joe was born on December 29, 1931 in Middletown, CT to Benjamin and Pauline Rosenthal. He graduated from Yale University in 1953 and from Harvard Law School in 1956.
Joe met the love of his life, Joan Langer, at the wedding of his brother, Irving, to her best friend, Shirley. They were married on June 27, 1954 and celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary the summer before Joan's passing earlier this year. Joe served in the United States Army in Ft. Dix, NJ, before the couple moved to Wilmington, DE where Joe developed a successful law practice. The Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) recognized Joe's integrity and commitment to the highest ideals of the law in 1986, granting him the First State Distinguished Service Award for unceasingly advancing the ideals of citizen participation and community accomplishment.
Joe was most proud of his pro bono work. When the federal Legal Services Corporation suffered funding cutbacks in the 1970s, he helped the DSBA found Delaware Volunteer Legal Services (DVLS) and was DVLS Chair from 1981-1987. It continues to provide quality legal services to those who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford a lawyer. He also devoted many hours to Community Legal Services, Inc., which still works to combat injustice through legal advocacy for underserved and vulnerable Delawareans.
Joe and Joan worked together to develop the Delaware affiliate of the ACLU and Planned Parenthood of Delaware. Together they received the ACLU Delaware Gerald E. Kandler award in 1994 for the indelible mark they made on the community as advocates and defenders of civil liberties. Joe and Joan also were honored for their leadership in Planned Parenthood of Delaware's reproductive health and rights efforts.
Over his life, Joe wove his loves and passions together into a unified whole, into what he called "a gem of a life." Whether it was his life with Joan, his commitment to the law and his colleagues at Rosenthal, Monhait, Gross & Goddess, doting on his grandchildren, ice skating, gardening, playing chess, listening to opera, studying history and politics at the UD Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or enjoying food and wine - he loved them all utterly and completely.
Joe is survived by his children, Ellin Rosenthal (Ron Faleide) and Ted Rosenthal (Kate); and grandchildren, Jaren Faleide (Christina Schofield), Matthew Rosenthal, and Ali Rosenthal. He also leaves nephews Stephen, Stuart, Dan and Michael.
Joe's family is deeply grateful to the staff and administrators at Country House, and to the medical professionals at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Wilmington Hospital for their dedication to Joe's well-being.
Contributions in his honor may be made to the ACLU of Delaware or DVLS
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Memories and Condolences
for Joseph Rosenthal
1 Entry
Lynn Israel
October 10, 2020
Joe has been a presence in my life since I was a little kid. I remember him & Uncle Irv at Auntie Pauline' s house in Middletown, playing ball with me in the back yard, and courting their girls--Joan & Auntie Shirl--at Nana's house in Longmeadow. After William Smith, when I moved to Philadelphia, he & Joan would come to Center City to take me out to supper. Later, after Jack & I were married, we'd meet them in Delaware. They introduced us to the Brandywine River Museum, which we still love .
Joe was witty, charming , funny & generous, & we will miss him.
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