Robert D. Rothenberg

Robert D. Rothenberg, “Bob”, 78 passed away peacefully on May 28, 2021 at his home in Oneonta, New York. Bob was born on March 22nd, 1943, the son of Werner and Ella (Weil) Rothenberg. During the 1930’s both of his parents and their families immigrated to the United States to escape from Nazi Germany. They met, married and raised their family in New York City. Bob graduated from Stuyvesant High School, a specialized public school in New York City that offers accelerated academics to city residents. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the City College of New York and was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, an honorary accounting fraternity. Shortly after earning his undergraduate degree, Bob attended NYU Law school where he received his J.D. degree.

Bob and his wife Geraldine Bakalar adopted three children while living in New Jersey, first working as a CPA at Arthur Anderson and then Warner Lambert. They fell in love with upstate New York where Bob commuted between New York City teaching at Lehman College and opening a law practice in Sidney NY. His brother Steven joined as a partner. Bob taught Real Estate licensing courses to salesmen and brokers in Delaware and Otsego counties. He later took a temporary teaching position at the State University of New York at Oneonta (SUCO) teaching Business Law and Accounting. Bob and a teaching colleague and business partner, Steven Blumenkrantz, opened an accounting office in Oneonta. Bob became a permanent professor at SUCO and taught there for over 30 years. In 1997, while continuing to teach at SUCO, he was given the opportunity to work with Russian professors and students at home and overseas. He taught classes during a Higher Business School exchange with the Siberian State Aerospace University, the State University of N.Y. at Oneonta and several Krasnoyark academic and cultural institutions. Bob spent 10 summers teaching International Business in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and enjoyed learning about their culture, art and cuisine. He also taught and hosted Russian, undergraduate students, who attended, then graduated from SUCO. Bob and his counterpart from the Higher Business School in Krasnoyarsk, had an article published in The American Business Law Journal in 2003. Bob was the accountant at The Arc of Delaware County (Delarc) for many years. He later joined the Board of Directors serving as Treasurer and subsequently as Board President for 6 years. His tenure with Delarc was more than 40 years. He was a decades long friend to and supporter of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, N.Y.

Bob was an internationally known and respected mineral collector. A guest lecturer, most notably at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, he made a presentation about collecting, micromounting, and featuring his photographic images, viewed through his Stereo microscope. His passion for minerals began when he was a teenager. He loved to go to quarries with other mineral collectors and as a result, his specialty became micromounting. In 2016 Bob was inducted into the Desautels Micromount Symposium Hall of Fame on behalf of the Baltimore Mineral Society, MD. He’d been photographing minerals for 10 years, some of which were featured on the website Mindat.org which is the world’s largest open database of minerals, rocks, meteorites and the localities they come from. He helped establish the not-for-profit Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, which owns Mindat.org. in 2003 He was the attorney and one of the original Board members.

An avid reader, he was also a published author in the fields of personal law and mineralogy. While Bob accomplished a lot in his lifetime, what brought him the most joy was spending time with his loving wife Monet, visiting with family, and being Opa to his grandchildren. He also enjoyed spending time talking with close friends, Charlie Scheidt, Robin Tibbit and Charlie Winters. Planting his and Monet’s garden and tending their koi pond were delightful for him and his neighbors. Their garden was once featured along with other local gardens, on the annual West Kortright Garden Tour, an honor he never forgot. He established a scholarship at Orpheus Theatre for young actors in memory of his son Jason Rothenberg (Raize). Bob made friends wherever he went. He was known for his quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit.

Bob was preceded in death by his father, Werner, his mother, Ella, his wife, Geraldine and his two sons, Andrew and Jason. He is survived by his wife Monet of Oneonta, New York; His daughter Lisa (Kevin) Williams and grandchildren Emma and Jack; His daughter Haabiba (Dwayne) Whitney and grandchildren Jeremiah and Jeshuah; and his stepson Khary Menelik. He is also survived by his brother Steven, (Barbara), Rothenberg, nephew Brian and niece Jennifer, and many loving nieces and nephews. A gathering of friends and family will be held on Saturday, July 17, 2021 from 12 to 3 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 12 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Orpheus Theatre or the Jason Raize Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1014, Oneonta, NY 13820 (orpheustheatre.org) or Helios Care, 297 River Street Service Road, Suite 1, Oneonta, NY 13820 (helioscare.org).