Thomas E. Rosenberg

1932 - 2018

(May 6, 1932 - Feb. 14, 2018) Born in Germany, Tom escaped the Holocaust with his parents and immigrated to America in 1938. He served as a U.S. Marine; one of its youngest officers. In the 1960s, he was a vice president of Corn Nuts, started his own advertising agency, and wrote a public affairs column that was published in every San Francisco weekly. Tom lived more than two decades in Sacramento, working as a corporate communications director at Aerojet, newspaper columnist, political campaign director, and environmentalist. He ran the statewide bond campaign that funded the Tahoe Conservancy to protect Lake Tahoe, and helped create the American River Parkway. By establishing Sacramento County's first large bingo hall for charities, Tom helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy community causes. In 2000, as politicians ramped up anti-immigrant rhetoric, Tom changed his name from Ross, changed when the family arrived in New York in 1938, back to Rosenberg, his family name. He published an article in Newsweek about his late-life name change and Bar Mitzvah in the context of pride in being an American Jew. This article inspired him to publish his 2012 memoir, "Everything's Possible," an analysis of how assimilation affected his life. During the 1990s, Tom found a home for his passion eliminating negative words in hope of aiding clear communication and reconciliation; www.inaword.org. Tom loved Lake Tahoe and relished his time at the family home he owned since 1965. The 10-speed Peugeot he rode around the lake (before people did that) remains in the family and serves as a reminder of his strength and perseverance. Tom is survived by his wife of 32 years, Hilary Abramson; son Jonathan Ross (and wife Karen); daughters Amy Ross (and partner Peter) and Katie Ross; and cherished grandchildren, Hannah, Wesley, Michael and Joshua. The family suggests donations may be directed to Friends of the American River or the League to Save Lake Tahoe.