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Obituary – Roberta Newton Rosen 1/28/1941 ~ 3/11/2020

Roberta Newton Rosen

1/28/1941 ~ 3/11/2020

 

Roberta Newton Rosen, known to her friends as Bert, died of advanced pancreatic cancer in her home in La Veta, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. She was surrounded by her family.

Bert was born on January 28, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Robert Ray and Babette Henley Newton. She grew up with her older sister Jessica Jay in the Quaker community Bryn Gweled, which her parents helped found. Bert attended several Quaker schools before graduating from the New School in New York and then earning her Masters of Library Science at Columbia University.

Bert loved books, and wanted to share their beauty with future generations. Accordingly, she served as a children’s librarian at both the Englewood and Irvington public libraries, as well as the Moriah orthodox Jewish school, all in New Jersey.

Bert regularly visited Colorado, traveling in spokes from Denver where her son and daughter-in-law lived. After realizing that living on the East Coast was only “an accident of birth,” she moved to Colorado in 1999.

She chose La Veta because it reflected the spirit of the cooperative community where she was raised, and because the library was open six days per week. Bert participated in many civic projects during her two decades in La Veta. She served as the librarian of the La Veta Public Library, helped raise funds for its renovation, and served on the boards of the library and the Friends of the Library. Bert was also active in the Book Nook, a local used book store whose proceeds fund the library.

Bert had an abiding interest in family history and historical buildings. In 2001, she and her sister Jessica purchased the post-and-beam barn that their grandfather’s grandfather built in Carthage, Indiana where they homesteaded in 1830. Bert and Jess moved to Carthage to disassemble the original barn, labeling each rough-hewn board, before transporting all to La Veta. The barn-raising in 2002 created an addition to their home that honors the historical structure while providing new living space. (Look for the three-story reddish-brown barn as you drive up Huajatolla Valley Estates Drive.) Bert’s dedication to historic preservation and community is also reflected in the historic building plaques in town that she helped the Historic Preservation Committee create.

As much as she loved La Veta, Bert also loved to travel. She lived in Venice, Italy for ten weeks to “learn” the city; traveled on a postal boat to see the icefields of Alaska; took each grandchild on a summer trip, including Mission Wolf, Costa Rica, and Hawaii; and traveled throughout the United States, enjoying family and friends as well as the national parks.

Bert will be missed. She was a beloved member of the community, admired for her kindness, candor and inclusive spirit. She is survived by her sister Jessica Newton; daughter and son-in-law Deborah Rosen White and John Motley III; son and daughter-in-law Jonathan and Karen Rosen; and grandchildren Madelyn White, Jordan Rosen, and Mitchell Rosen.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to continue Bert’s support for the La Veta Public Library by requesting donations to the Book Nook Renovation Project in memory of Bert or asking that you buy a book from the Book Nook whenever you can.

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