Kenneth Ira Rosenberg

After learning he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer 3½ years ago, Ken Rosenberg adopted "Carpe (every damn) Diem" as his motto. And he certainly did that as he and his wife of almost 48 years, Shelley Kapnek Rosenberg, continued their volunteer work and their world travels, which had taken them to all seven continents, more than 50 countries and all but five states. They added 17 more travel adventures between diagnosis and the final stages of his illness.

On Friday, May 31, Kenneth Ira Rosenberg died peacefully at home surrounded by loving family. Born Jan. 3, 1947, the son of Nathan and Roslyn Busch Rosenberg, Ken's six weeks of hospice care, again defying the odds, were what he called his "Rolling Goodbye Party;" he was visited daily by a large and supportive group of family, friends, and former co-workers.

Ken was the loving father of Michael Wayne and Rabbi Jessica Faith Rosenberg, adoring grandfather of Arianna Faith Rosenberg, brother of Carol (Stuart) Fisher and Richard (Anne) Rosenberg, and brother-in-law of Hilary (P. Todd) Alexander. Enjoying family, playing with Arianna, and sending mostly-appropriate cartoons
to friends and family were all favorite pastimes of Ken's.

A 1964 graduate of Cheltenham High School, where he played varsity soccer and sang in the mixed ensemble, he received an economics degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. There, he managed the wrestling team, was Vice President of ZBT fraternity and led the school's tour guides. After college, Ken worked for a year for Fidelity Bank, which sent him to London for six weeks.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1972, Ken began practicing commercial real estate law at Mesirov Gelman Jaffe Cramer & Jamieson, which later merged with Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. He became a partner and chair of the Real Estate Department. Driving past offices, apartment buildings and malls all over the Greater Philadelphia area, he would point proudly and say, "I did that deal!" He was known for his honesty and ability to set up "win-win" situations. Ken was also particularly gifted at and loved mentoring young lawyers.

Ken served as president of the Jewish Exponent newspaper from 1998-2001. He also was vice chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, an officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and the first chairman of the Jewish Information & Referral Service. He and Shelley were one of six founding families of Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation, now in Ft. Washington.

During his retirement, Ken volunteered for 10 years as a docent at the
Philadelphia Zoo, where he would station himself with a bear claw and give kids
a "high paw" or hold a penguin pelt and tell jokes before delving into penguin facts. He loved conducting early morning tours for the zoo's sleepover program for kids.

On one of Ken's favorite trips, he and Shelley sailed to Antarctica where Ken, well into his 60s, took the "polar plunge," diving into the frigid waters. He also particularly enjoyed three nights sleeping in a tent in the Moroccan Sahara and a photo safari in Botswana. It amused him to hear people ask, "You went where?"

When he received his diagnosis, with its 3-to-6-month median survival rate and was told he had probably 1 to 2 years to live, Ken noted that he went to M.I.T. and understood the principle of a bell-shaped curve. Somebody, he said, needed to be on the positive extreme and it might as well be him.

Services will be held Monday, 11 a.m. at Joseph Levine & Sons, 4737 Street Rd., Trevose. Shiva will be at the late residence, 1250 Greenwood Ave., Jenkintown, Monday night through Thursday night, minyan at 7:30 p.m.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Female Hebrew Benevolent
Society.