Obituary of David Rosen

David Rosen, 86, of Vineland passed away Sunday, May 22, 2011. Born in Bronx, New York in 1925, moved to Kansas City in 1932 and then to Vineland, New Jersey in 1939. He attended Vineland High School, where he won the first James Parkinson award in 1943 for the most outstanding athlete lettering in both football and baseball. Upon graduation in 1943, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served honorably in the Pacific theater during WWII. After his discharge in 1946, he enrolled at Glassboro State College where he majored in education. While at Glassboro, Dave was instrumental in establishing the first football program where in 1947, he was the team's most valuable player. He continued his education at Glassboro, receiving his Masters degree in Special Education in 1954. While at Glassboro, Dave served as an officer in the New Jersey National Guard from 1949-1952. In addition, he taught Special Education classes at Memorial School in Vineland from 1949-1956. In 1956, he became the Director of Education at the Vineland State School and was promoted to Assistant Superintendent in1961. In 1965, Dave accepted the position of Superintendent of the Woodbridge State School in Woodbridge, New Jersey. In 1968, he left New Jersey and relocated his family to Washington State to accept the position of Superintendent of Lakeland Village in Medical Lake, Washington. In 1971, he moved to Michigan, where he was instrumental in the development of Macomb Oakland Regional Center, which set precedence as a facility offering transitional placement from institution to a group home. In 1978-79, Dave was promoted to Associate Director of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities for the State of Michigan. In 1981, he accepted the position of Deputy Director of Community Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities for the State of New Jersey and served in that capacity through 1988 at which time he retired. Since then and most recently, he has served on the board of the Vineland State School. During that over 30 year journey, Dave served on a number of oversea assignments (including Denmark, Holland and Israel) and as a consultant to more than 30 states and the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare on developmental disabilities. He was and advisor to Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the formation of the Special Olympics. As a founder and forerunner in the field of normalization, he authored and contributed to numerous professional articles in respected journals, which lead to the reintroduction of the developmentally disabled back into the community. In 1971-1973, he became the first president of the National Association of Superintendents of Public Residential Facilities for the Mentally Retarded where he was recognized for laying the cornerstone upon which the organization has been built. From 1973-74, Dave was elected the President of the American Association on Mental Deficiency (now American Association for Developmental Disabilities). His substantial efforts on behalf of people with mental retardation were noted in Richard Scheerenberger's classic A History of Mental Retardation. He was cited as a person who contributed to the foundations of more humane and appropriate systems of services. Always the advocate, his expertise and leadership lead to the closing of several substandard facilities including Willowbrook in New York and Plymouth in Michigan. Dave's lifelong contributions have been recognized in numerous letters of appreciation from Governors and Presidents. After his retirement, Dave became an avid wood carver and won awards in several juried exhibitions. Dave was preceded in death by his sisters Belle Kahn and Helen Chonofsky and his brother George Rosen. Dave is survived by his devoted wife of 59 years, Sybil. He has three children, Beth Parent (Richard) of Vineland, Jeffrey Rosen (Tammy) of Spokane, Washington, and Diane Roach (Scott) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Dave has two grandchildren, Shannon Rosen and Adam Reed.