Dr. Estelle Rosenblum

Dr. Estelle Rosenblum



University of New Mexico College of Nursing Dean Emerita Dr. Estelle Helene Masters Rosenblum, Ph.D., glass-ceiling buster, world traveler, opera aficionado, gracious hostess, curator of a wicked wit and strong opinions, mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and mentor died Nov. 13. She was 90.

"When I die," Estelle liked to joke, "I hope I'm being interrupted." Her boundless zest for life guaranteed that such a wish would come to pass.

Her rich, adventurous and pioneering life began Feb. 8, 1933, when she was born in Davenport, Iowa, to Daniel Masters, who stowed away on a ship from England at age 16, and Cecil Spiewak Masters, who arrived in America from eastern Europe in the early 1900s with sisters and cousins.

Her family, including older brother Jerry, moved to Des Moines where younger sister, Tammy, was born and Estelle attended Roosevelt High School. After graduation, she made a kismet-inspired decision to attend the University of Iowa to begin her nursing courses. As the story goes, the stunning 19-year-old Jackie O-look-alike attended a dance where she looked across the room at a tall, handsome G.I. just back from WWII, who had come to Iowa from Paterson, N.J., to pursue his Ph. D. in psychology. It was love at first sight. She and Dr. Sidney Rosenblum were married in Des Moines Aug. 30, 1953, and began a life together filled with child-rearing, travel, theater, and philanthropy, until Sidney's untimely death to cancer in 1988.

The young couple moved to Detroit where, in 1956, Estelle earned her bachelor's degree in nursing with honors from Wayne State University; they soon welcomed son Jay and daughter Gail. In 1962, nine months pregnant with son Paul Mitchell, Estelle and Sid planted roots in a small desert community called Albuquerque, where they would both become pillars of the community.

Estelle's nursing career included work as a psychiatric and hospital nurse, as well as a school nurse at West Mesa High School where she sometimes took her work home, literally. For several months, one of her struggling female students lived with the Rosenblums so Estelle could get the young woman back on track.

She earned her first master's degree from UNM in Speech/Audiology in 1971, penning a book on the topic, a Ph.D. in Community Health Education in 1979, and a second master's degree, in Nursing, from the University of Texas-El Paso in 1981.

After many years of teaching nursing at UNM, she became a professor in 1983 and was named Dean of the College of Nursing in 1987 after a national search. During her deanship, her collaborative leadership and public health focus connected her to health departments, Indian Health Service Centers, outreach in Truchas and Hatch, UNM Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital and Lovelace Care facilities.

In 1991, she established the first graduate level Nurse-Midwifery program at the UNM College of Nursing. Upon retirement in 1993, she received the UNM Regent's Meritorious Service Award, the university's highest honor. And on Sept. 18, 2000, then Dean Sandra Ferketich and the College of Nursing dedicated the Rosenblum-Weiss Center for Nursing Excellence in Women's and Children's Health honoring Estelle and fellow emerita Dr. Joann Weiss.

Her list of honors also includes being admitted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nurses and being named a Legend in Nursing by the March of Dimes for her work in building the profession of nursing in New Mexico.

Despite a full professional load, Estelle was a regular and proud attendee of her children's band and choir concerts, baseball games, spelling bees, debate competitions, and religious school events at B'nai Israel Congregation. Before Sidney's death, the couple traveled the world multiple times. Estelle counted among her favorite places Australia and New Zealand, Russia, China, India, Paris, Machu Picchu, Hawaii, the Galapagos, where she mingled with turtles, and New York City where she delighted in seeing five or six Broadway shows in a week.

She was an enthusiastic supporter of and volunteer for Albuquerque Civic Light Opera (and later, Musical Theatre Southwest), where Sid performed in 17 shows at Popejoy Hall; an active member of the Rotary Club of Albuquerque and Sigma Theta Tau (national honor society in nursing), a gift shop volunteer at Temple Albert, and a formidable competitor during her regular bridge games. She and Sidney attended the Santa Fe Opera beginning in its infancy in 1962, "through sunshine and rain," she once recalled proudly, and through the Opera's historic fire and legendary rebuilding.

To the end, she kept in close touch with her adored University of Iowa sorority sisters of Sigma Delta Tau.

In 1995, Estelle married the late Albuquerque businessman Jack Grevey and together they enjoyed travel and social activities, including seeing Michael Jackson perform in Amsterdam and parasailing in Hawaii on her 65th birthday.

In her later years, Estelle enjoyed the company of chemical engineer James Elson Hesse, who introduced her to a whole new world of Sons of the American Revolution. Together, they helped launch the highly esteemed Young Voices of Santa Fe Opera.

Just months before her passing, she sang "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries" to her children. "Don't take it serious," she counseled. "Life's too mysterious."

Estelle was predeceased by her husbands Sidney Rosenblum and Jack Grevey, and her partner, James Elson Hesse, her brother, Jerry, and her nephew Garrett Masters. She is survived by her sister Tammy Yentis (Jonathan Yentis); sons Jay Rosenblum (Debra Saslawsky) and Paul Mitchell Rosenblum (Susan Hodgson); daughter Gail Rosenblum (Patrick Twiss); stepdaughter Eileen Grevey Hillson (David Hillson); grandchildren Sydney Ziemer-Davis (Kait Ziemer-Davis); Noah Davis; Carly Davis, and their father Barry J. Davis; Joseph Meyer Rosenblum and his mother, Patricia K. Meyer; bonus grandchildren Henry, Annie and Kate Twiss, Sean and Lisa Clifford, Nathan and Bethany Hillson; niece Dana Dickson (David Dickson); great-niece Nora Dickson, great-nephews Drew and Bennett Dickson; 1-year-old great-granddaughter Edie Hays Ziemer-Davis, who lit up her life during her two visits to Albuquerque over the past year; many beloved cousins and countless friends.

The family is deeply indebted to Roann Sexson and the compassionate and dedicated caregivers at A Love For Life. A special thanks to Rose Maldonado for her loving care of Estelle for many years prior.

Donations to honor Estelle's legacy may be made to the Julie Gorwoda Endowed Nurse-Midwifery Fund of the University of New Mexico Foundation, or Young Voices of Santa Fe Opera.

A private burial has been held. A celebratory gathering to remember and honor Estelle is being planned for February.