grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.
Born Rosi Honigsberg on December 11, 1929 in Hamburg, Germany to Oscar and Betty
Honigsberg, she fled with her parents and brother Max to the United States in the fall of 1939.
Being a Holocaust survivor became a critical part of her identity, and later in her life she spoke
to children at schools about her experience as well as having a recorded interview about her life
placed in the archives of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.
After arriving in the US, Rosalie lived with her family in the Bronx, NY. She quickly learned that
she was gifted at math, and when most of the girls enrolled in the “commercial” program in high
school to gain skills to be a secretary (and wife), she chose the “academic” program which put
her on the college track. Her goal was to become a teacher, but when her parents informed her
they could not afford the room and board for the state school, she chose a city college instead,
working part time while she went to school. She graduated in 5 years from Hunter College in
1953 with a Bachelor’s Degree.
Rosalie worked as a teacher for only a short time before she realized that she was not suited for
the job, so she went to California where her brother was living and got a job at a bank.
Unfortunately, when the aunt who was instrumental in bringing her family to this country passed
away, she came back to New York and ended up staying. In 1956, Rosalie got a job at Hebrew
Union College as a bookkeeper. It was there that she met her husband, Asher Herman, who
was studying to be a Cantor. They married in 1957, and after giving birth to a boy who tragically
only lived for one day, they had 2 healthy daughters, Andrea and Judy. The family moved a
number of times, settling finally in Cherry Hill, NJ. Rosalie had been working as a bookkeeper
since her daughters started school, and when they were in high school, she went to night school
at Camden Community College to get her degree in Accounting.
Rosalie and Asher retired to Florida, and following his death in 2002, she remained until moving
to Denver, CO in 2017 to be close to her family. She lived independently until her passing.
Rosalie is survived by her daughters Andrea Herman Kraemer (Bruce) of Aurora, CO and Judy
Herman of Emerson, NJ; grandchildren Nikita Kraemer (Hailey); Alexa Kraemer (Ian);
great-grandchildren Abigail and Charles Bailey Kraemer; and her brother Max Honigsberg
(Navy). She will be laid to rest beside her husband in North Lauderdale, FL.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC or
Jewish Family Services of Colorado. You may also consider planting a tree in Israel
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