Brian D. Rosenthal, 64, Philadelphia lawyer and Lower Merion commissioner
When his son missed out on postseason baseball because there was no local league, Mr. Rosenthal founded the Lower Merion Little League. He held tryouts, coached, found playing fields, and dealt with parents.
Brian D. Rosenthal, 64, formerly of Wynnewood, a Philadelphia lawyer and past Lower Merion Township commissioner, as well as founder of the township's Little League, died April 23 of cancer at his home in Lafayette Hill.
For 35 years, Mr. Rosenthal was a personal-injury lawyer who specialized in cases involving civil rights, medical malpractice, product liability and wrongful detention. In 1992, he founded the law firm of Rosenthal & Weisberg PC, and a decade later, after the death of his partner, Michael Weisberg, he joined the law firm of Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky PC. He never retired.
"To put it simply, he was someone you wanted on your side," his son Alex Rosenthal wrote in a eulogy. He chose clients whom he believed "were genuinely and gravely harmed and in need of help. He was deeply impassioned for his clients and chose his cases solely based on whether he felt his client was truly deserving of justice."
Born in Glen Ridge N.J., he grew up in Caldwell and attended several high schools, where he was active in sports. His father, Charles, was a butcher and his mother, Dorothy, a homemaker. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on scholarship, and after graduating, earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law School.
"He had an incredibly sharp mind and remembered details more quickly and thoroughly than most people," his son wrote. "He also knew what it took to get ahead, and made opportunities for himself, sometimes out of thin air."
To hone his skills at the start of his career, Mr. Rosenthal prosecuted homicide cases for five years as a Philadelphia assistant district attorney. Later, when practicing with Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Mr. Rosenthal served pro bono as a temporary judge, handling arbitration cases for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He also taught torts and criminal law as an adjunct professor at Peirce College in Philadelphia.
In 1974, he married Joy Weisman. The couple lived in Philadelphia before moving in 1985 to Wynnewood. They had three children.
From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Rosenthal served as a Lower Merion Township commissioner in Ward Eight, specializing in matters involving police and recreation. The post drew on his skills as a take-charge kind of person, his son said.
"Time after time, when my dad was in a room full of people, or in a situation that called for action, where someone had to take charge or stand up and speak, we could all count on him," he wrote. "I remember going to commissioner meetings with him, and having police officers deliver big, sealed manila envelopes of township information to our house. He loved being a commissioner."
When his son Adam played baseball, but couldn't enjoy postseason play because there was no organization for it in the township, Mr. Rosenthal founded and directed the Lower Merion Little League. He ran tryouts, negotiated for access to fields, coached, and dealt with parents. In his honor, for the last 16 years, the league has given the Brian D. Rosenthal Award to a person or organization that has contributed to the growth of Little League baseball in the township.
Since 2000, Mr. Rosenthal had battled a series of ailments that required time spent in hospitals, but he didn't let that deter him. "He just wanted to keep going, to keep doing," his son wrote.
Mr. Rosenthal was interested in Civil War and ancient history, conservative thought, foreign cultures, writing, photography, reading, and music. He was a die-hard Yankees fan and followed University of Pennsylvania basketball. He had a man cave before man caves were even "a thing," his son wrote.
He and his first wife divorced. In 2003, he met Amy Jo Kroker. The two married in 2006, and spent time traveling together and enjoying life.
Besides sons Alex and Adam, and his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Elizabeth; stepchildren Benjamin Kroker, Mandy Kroker, and Dean Kroker; a grandson; and a brother.
Services were April 24.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Chabad of Lafayette Hill, www.jewishlh.com; or Congregation Or Ami, or-ami.org