Eugene "Yaney" Rosenthal

Rosenthal, Eugene "Yaney" Born on Aug. 5, 1914, Pittsburgh, PA, died peacefully at home in Los Angeles with his children by his side. He was the son of Joseph and Rae Rosenthal; brother to Mildred Smoller and Mort Schreiber; husband to Lucille R. Rosenthal who predeceased him four months ago; father to Richard H. and Susan J. Rosenthal and their spouses and grandfather "Poppi" to Jennifer and Daniel Rosenthal and Gina Walters.
Gene graduated from Taylor Alderdice High School and was awarded a football scholarship to Carnegie Institute of Technology where he earned a B.A. degree in Engineering. He was All-City Football and Basketball Player in High School and winner of the Western Pa. Jr. Olympics. He was a varsity football and basketball player at Carnegie Tech for three years. He was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania in 1987. Gene married Lucille Mendoza in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy and attained the rank of Lt. Commander on the Hogarth Bay Air Craft Carrier. After the war, he and Lucille settled in the San Fernando Valley. He started and operated many businesses, settling into real estate finance in the 60's and motion picture exhibition in the 70's and 80's. His wife, children, grandchildren and extended family were the crowning glory of his life. He enjoyed a rich and dynamic married life over their 63 years together. Gene kept growing and changing, becoming a peer counselor to seniors later in life, studying Hebrew and Torah, continuing to play the clarinet and saxophone and beating everyone on the tennis court. Unanimously considered as "one of a kind" and everyone's favorite surrogate dad, his family and friends felt his genuine interest in how and what they were doing. "Poppi's" unique capacity to love and accept people "as they were" is his eternal gifts to those that knew him. Donations in his memory to Opica Day Program - www.opica.org. Services are today, Sunday, April 23, 2006, 12 p.m., TaNaCH Chapel, Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills.