Obituary of Harriet Strauss Rosen

Harriet Strauss Rosen, 10/04/1938 to 03/27/2023, was born in NY, NY and attended the Bronx High School of Science where she met her husband, Paul. They married in 1959 and had a wonderful 60-year marriage until Paul’s death in 2019.

Harriet is an alumna of the Columbia University School of Physical Therapy and worked as a physical therapist at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx. During Paul’s medical residency they lived in Baltimore and then during his first stint in the Air Force they lived in Arkansas and Germany and traveled extensively in Europe with their young children, Mark and Amy. After returning to the United States, Harriet developed the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Pascack Valley Hospital in New Jersey. When the family moved to Texas, Harriet received an MS in Healthcare Administration at Trinity University in San Antonio and worked as the administrator at St. Benedict Health Care center where she developed the first Medicare certified hospice facility in the country.

Harriet got her dream job as Executive Director of Cambridge Visiting Nurse and Hospice Association when they moved to Boston. They lived in Brookline for 8 years and then Paul entered the Army and they moved to Denver because Harriet’s brother Stan Strauss lived in Boulder, and Paul had cousins in Denver. They loved the area because of its weather and many opportunities for outdoor activities. In Denver, Harriet was unemployed for the first time (“overqualified” for anything) which rapidly turned into “retired.”  Harriet remained active as a volunteer with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science archives division and the Denver Public Library. Paul and Harriet continued to travel including llama trekking in Utah, rafting the Grand Canyon, spending 2 months in Australia, in addition to travels to Antarctica, Egypt, Patagonia and, one of Harriet’s favorite trips, the Panama Canal.  

Harriet remained active painting and gardening extensively in her xeriscape beds in Denver. She was active in the Hadassah book club and with her chavurah friends. During Covid Harriet determined to remain busy and played scrabble online, helped organize a neighborhood jigsaw puzzle exchange, taught herself and many friends to Zoom. Harriet’s sewing machine was busy as she sewed 2500 masks for Covid distribution throughout the U.S. and beyond, and designed clothing from Paul’s tie and bandana collections. Anyone who visited Harriet always heard her listening to classical music on her reel-to-reel tape collection. In her last year in Colorado Harriet left her beloved garden and to moved Hilltop Reserve where she made many new friends and, in her own words continued to “make trouble” and earned her nickname, bestowed by her grandchildren, “Badass Granny.”

In recent weeks Harriet relocated from Denver to Massachusetts to be near her family and passed away comfortably in her new apartment having spent precious quality time with her family.

Harriet is survived by her daughter Amy Silverstein (Ross) and her son Mark Rosen (Ercy), grandchildren Ariel (Jeff Shi) and Zarah Rosen, and Ezekiel, Danielle, Naomi and Rachel Silverstein and her great-granddaughter Livia Shi.

A graveside service will be held Sunday, April 2nd at 10 am at Emanuel Cemetery. Service will be live-streamed via Feldman Mortuary’s YouTube channel. 

Memorial Donations to Denver Museum of Nature and Science Paul and Harriet Rosen Teen Science Scholars Fund, Hadassah of Greater Denver and Planned Parenthood.