Obituary of Michael Jay Rosenbaum

Michael Jay Rosenbaum, age 80, died peacefully on March 24th in his own bed at 401 Fairway Green, Mamaroneck NY 10543 of pancreatic cancer. He was alert to the end, surrounded by his beloved wife of 57 years, Maj-Britt, and their four sons, Ian, Per, Eric, and Nils. During Michael's last weeks he was visited by his large loving family including his sons' wives, Daryl, Alicia and Marisa, his 12 grandchildren: Ava, Charles, Maia, Delaney, Lucy, Milton, Eden, Michael, Michael, Pierce, Lily Belle and Zeke. Michael's two sisters, Mary and Liz, and their families, as well as many close friends came to bid loving farewells. Born in Boston MA, 10/31/1937 and raised in Cincinnati OH, Michael graduated from Yale in 1959, received a MA at Columbia School of International Affairs in 1963 and a law degree from Columbia in1967. More interested in business than the law, Michael co-chaired Ring Contractors, a jewelry business, before he joined his old friend, Ben Lebow to work in leveraged buyouts. He was briefly chairman of Western Union and an original principal of SOBE beverages prior to its sale to PepsiCo. Later he had active interests in several startup businesses, here as well as in Israel. A joyful entrepreneur who always expected the most optimistic of outcomes, he weathered many unavoidable disappointments with remarkable resilience. His greatest pleasure beyond time with his wife and family was volunteer work with those less fortunate, teaching English, chess and working to motivate youth at Riker's Island to reach their goals in life. He was especially proud of being the mentor of a disadvantaged entrepreneur, Michael Cole, now a successful founder of MikeyLikesIt ice-cream. We will long treasure his loving kindness, wisdom and indomitable optimism, his razor-sharp wit and his unconditional support. A memorial service will be held In lieu of flowers please donate to CIT, Inc (goCIT.org), a crisis intervention organization dedicated to helping those living with mental illness.