![]() ![]() Patients, students, colleagues, and supervisees all benefited greatly from his utter human decency, depth, and commitment. Irv's professional life was deeply gratifying to him and those whose lives he touched. Most Augusts found the Rosen family vacationing in Colorado at their beloved YMCA of the Rockies. He and his friend Jerry Katz wrote songs for special occasions and people in the community, which brought as much pleasure to Irv as they provided to those the songs honored. His love of theater led to years of involvement with Topeka Civic Theatre, where he served as president. He spent many Sundays in his younger years playing tennis at Hughes courts. A puzzle enthusiast and avid reader, he regularly completed cryptoquotes and the New York Times crossword puzzle late into life. A third son, Donald “Don” was born November 22, 1956. Irv was offered a job on staff at Menninger at the conclusion of his fellowship and began what he called a “dream career". A second son, Eric, was born May 25, 1953. Irv, Betty, and Larry moved to Topeka for what they thought would be two years and never left. Irv took advantage of the GI Bill to earn his PhD in Psychology in 1952, the same year the Menninger Clinic announced the creation of a new post-doctoral program in clinical psychology. They lived in Pittsburgh while Irv was in graduate school and they had their first child, Lawrence “Larry” on October 27, 1949. She immigrated 16 months later, and they were married on June 22, 1947. Irv and Betty courted in the Lake District and Lancashire, and became engaged in February 1946, shortly before he was shipped back to America. With music playing and Irv boisterously singing along, she let it be known, “The Yank is singing the wrong words.” A romance ignited in a mutual love of music and words. On March 17, 1945, at a pub in Lytham, Irv met Betty Horne, the woman who would change his life. A plaque he wrote honoring the 38 schoolchildren killed in a tragic aircraft accident still stands at Freckleton, near the former RAF Warton airbase. After graduation, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, and was ultimately stationed in England. He was fond of saying, “I didn’t choose my major, my major chose me.” The foundation for his life’s professional passion and his abiding love of words and language were cultivated during these years. Irv’s studies varied at Pitt and nearing graduation with an undeclared major, he discovered he had the most credits in Psychology. Irv played trumpet in the Pitt Marching Band and he also found lifelong friends at the University newspaper, where he served as editor-in-chief. He attended the University of Pittsburgh on a full scholarship at age 15. A precocious child, he started school and was quickly elevated two grades and later skipped a third year. Irv grew up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where the family lived together with Irv's grandmother. At ten, his parents moved the family to Pittsburgh to be closer to relatives during the early years of the Great Depression. He cherished the memory of his father taking him to see the 1927 Yankees play. While in New York, Irv's love of Broadway plays and especially musicals was nurtured when he attended matinees with his mother, his fondest of childhood memories. Irv was born in Brooklyn on December 15, 1922, the only child of Jack and Lillian (Cohn) Rosen. ![]() Irwin Charles “Irv” Rosen, 93, passed away surrounded by his wife and family on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. ![]()
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