Dr. Michael Rosen

Dr. Michael Henry Rosen, M.D., passed away on May 17, 2022 surrounded by loving family, after living with pancreatic cancer for two-and-a-half years. He was buried at Eretz HaChaim Cemetery in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Dr. Rosen was born October 4, 1953 in Brooklyn, NY to Holocaust survivors Isaac and Sala (Lerman) Rosen, of blessed memory. He devoted his life to healing and supporting patients with cancer and related diseases; he received his MD from Einstein School of Medicine in 1979, followed by a hematology residency at Montefiore Hospital and a neo-plastics residency at Mount Sinai. Since 1986, Dr. Rosen was an essential member of the medical community in Springfield, MA, specializing in hematology/oncology first at Springfield Medical Associates for 26 years, and then for Pioneer Valley Oncology and Hematology until his illness brought on an early retirement in 2019. He was instrumental in bringing hospice to the Western Mass region, and he served as founding medical director of Baystate Hospice from 1988-2006, then as director of Mercy Hospice from 2014 until his diagnosis.

From his arrival in 1986, Dr. Rosen was a vital member of Springfield’s Jewish community, regularly attending services at Kodimoh Synagogue, Congregation B’nai Torah, and Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy. He volunteered teaching classes, reading the Torah, and serving in the burial society (chevra kadisha). Among his friends, he was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of almost every subject, fluency with Jewish texts, his quick sarcastic wit, and his joie de vivre.

He achieved his lifelong dream of running the New York City Marathon at age 50. With the same strength of will, he walked miles almost daily throughout his illness; his last walk, two miles four days before his death.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Rona (Davis) Rosen; brother Allen Rosen; children Rebecca Neumeier, Gila Ogle, Shalom Rosen, Zvi Rosen, and Miri Rosen; and seven grandchildren. Donations in his memory may be made to Congregation B’nai Torah, Lubavitcher Yeshiva Academy, Mercy Hospital, and Beacon Hospice.