Barbara B. Rosen

ROSEN-Barbara Behrens Rosen died on Sunday, July 12, 2020, from complications following surgery. She was 85. Her family is grateful for the extraordinary care she received at White Plains Hospital.
Born in Napoleon, Ohio, to Sarah Lucinda Eversole Behrens and Judge Ferd G. Behrens, Barbara lived most of her life in Manhattan, with stints also in New Rochelle, Chicago, and London. After receiving her BA from Michigan State University in 1957, she moved to New York City where she began her career as a teacher and met her husband of almost 50 years, Edward Arthur Rosen. Barbara and Ed shared many adventures, including the raising of three daughters. They loved to travel and relished especially summers in Aurora, New York, and later East Hampton, where they always welcomed extended family and friends with open arms and home-cooked meals.
In 1975, Barbara earned an MS from City College's School of Education, where she trained to be a learning specialist. She would go on to help hundreds of students at Fordham University, the Fashion Institute of Technology, Prep for Prep, the Chicago Latin School, and Packer Collegiate. The bulk of her career was devoted to the Fieldston School, where she was a learning specialist and then the Head of the Middle School, and the Brearley School, where she oversaw Classes VIII and IX and taught Language Arts. She was known for her fierce commitment to her students. She held them to the highest standards while also offering a supportive and sympathetic ear.
After Barbara retired from Brearley in 2001, she interned in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's NYC office, returned to Brearley to fill in for others on sabbatical, and tutored children at The Reading Team - Literacy for Life. For the last decade of her life, she volunteered at the Main New York Public Library, where she assisted visitors and patrons and built new friendships with wonderful colleagues.
Barbara is remembered by many for her radiant smile and mischievous sense of humor, for her optimism and good sense, and for the wonderful pies she loved to bake but never ate. She is also remembered for her devotion to her children. Her daughters are grateful for so much, including her quiet and determined strength and loving support for all their choices.
Barbara leaves daughters Martha and her partner Peter Clark, Hannah and her spouse Richard Turits, and Sarah and her spouse Ted Wartell; her sister Mary K. Smith and her family; many cousins; and special friends the Weinblatts. Barbara also leaves three grandchildren, Gabriel Morse Rosen-Turits and Eleanor Rose and Clara Rose Wartell. Her ashes will be buried in the Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton. A memorial will be held once it is safe again to gather in person.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to the New York Public Library (https://on.nypl.org/2OyXXTc) or The Reading Team, Inc., 2090 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, Suite 100, New York, NY 10027.