December 21, 2018

Marjorie Rosenberg

Marjorie Rosenberg was born and raised in Washington, DC. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from Russia in 1911, the year her mother was born, arriving with her as an infant. The family was large and close, gathering for enormous Passover tables with three uncles, their spouses, and children. Her maternal grandfather was a skilled cabinet maker who was hired by Mrs. Hoover to make replica furniture for the White House and crafted chairs for cabinet members up until the Eisenhower administration. He also made an extra chair for each of his children, and the one passed down to Marjorie now sits in her apartment. Her father's family also came from Russia and settled in California before moving to Chicago, where he was raised. Her mother, born in 1911, earned a law degree though she did not practice.

Marjorie finished high school in a diverse Washington, DC public school and went on to college. Following her mother's advice to learn to type and take shorthand, she built a career as an executive assistant. She married in 1962, and after her husband's naval service the family moved around, including northern Virginia, where she worked as secretary to a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper editor. The family settled in Connecticut, where her two children spent much of their upbringing. When her daughter reached driving age, Marjorie returned to work, joining a venture chemical and technology investment firm and later another venture capital company where she stayed for more than 25 years, retiring in 2010. Her son now lives in England with three grandsons, and her daughter teaches art at Hockaday in Dallas.

Jewish and civic life were part of Marjorie's story throughout. Growing up she belonged to a temple in Washington, attended Sunday school, was confirmed, and cherished her years in the Girl Scouts and Brownies. As an adult she found her home in Hadassah. After retiring, she left the snowy hills of Connecticut to be near her daughter and granddaughter in Dallas, where she quickly connected at the J and was welcomed by people such as Sunny Shore and Marge Carpel. She stepped into a Hadassah leadership role for six years and became involved in readers theater, the Tycher Library committee, an intergenerational program with preschoolers, and chairing the Lifesaver Luncheon for the Herzl group. She named her mother as her greatest role model and her children and grandchildren as her proudest accomplishment, expressing deep happiness with her life in Dallas.

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