Family File for David Saul MITTMAN - Person Sheet
Family File for David Saul MITTMAN - Person Sheet
NameRose CENTURY
Birth26 Dec 1923, Chicago, IL
Death17 Feb 2014, Palo Alto, CA Age: 90
FlagsMITTMAN-1
Obituaries
From 20 Feb 2014, Page 2-9 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com:1448

SOGLIN, ROSE CENTURY

Rose Century Soglin, formerly of Chicago and Highland Park, died Monday in Palo Alto, Calif., at age 90. The cause was complications from dementia. Rose was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. A memorial service will be held in Chicago at a later date.

Rose is survived by her son Paul Soglin and his wife, Sara Soglin, of Madison, Wisc.; daughter Deborah Soglin and her husband, Dan Appelman, of Menlo Park, Calif.; son Ari Soglin and his partner, Suzanne Portnoy, of Albany, Calif.; daughter Becky Soglin and her husband, Rusty Hansen, of Iowa City, Iowa; son Jonathan Soglin and his wife, Eve Pearlman, of Alameda, Calif.; stepdaughter and niece Susan Fantl Spivack and her husband, Jay Spivack, of Cobleskill, N.Y.; stepson and nephew Richard Steinberg and his wife, Lisa Belluzzi, of Goleta, Calif., stepson and nephew Steven Steinberg of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and daughter-in-law Rae Lynn Fiscalini of Benicia, Calif.

Rose is also survived by grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Jesse (Beth Mitchell) and Zachary Appelman; Rachael, Alexandra, and Natasha Soglin; Dashiell and Tatiana Soglin; Talia and Oliver Soglin; Jeremy (Faye Halpern) Fantl and Sarah (David LaRosa) Spivack; and Will Steinberg. She also is survived by two step-great-grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Her husbands, Albert Soglin of Highland Park, Ill, preceded her in death in 1976, and Martin Steinberg of Santa Barbara, Calif., in 2007.

The family welcomes memorial gifts to your local library or the ACLU.

From Palo Alto Online - Lasting Memories - Rose Century Soglin's memorial:

Rose Century Soglin of Palo Alto spent almost four decades raising her five children in Illinois. Then, at 59, she started a 20-year career managing an independent bookstore’s children’s book section in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Rose, who was called “a gentle, enthusiastic bundle of information” in a Santa Barbara newspaper profile, died Monday (Feb. 17) in Palo Alto, Calif., of complications from dementia. She was 90.

Rose was born in Chicago on Dec. 26, 1923, to Jewish immigrants from Warsaw, Poland. She was the youngest of Chaim and Esther Century’s three children. Raising Rose, her brother, Sol, and her sister, Frieda, during the Depression, their parents taught them to seek fairness, justice, and education for all.

Rose met Albert Soglin at a political meeting in Chicago in 1942. They married four months later. During World War II, Al joined the Army and was stationed at several bases around the United States. Rose accompanied him during a stint in Palo Alto, where she learned drafting skills. When she and Al returned to Chicago, she worked as a draftswoman until the war’s end and then was a laboratory assistant at the former Michael Reese Hospital.

Rose’s child-rearing years began when son Paul (named after the singer Paul Robeson) was born in 1945, followed by Debbie. By the early 1960s, Ari and the youngest, twins Becky and Jonathan, had joined the brood.

A fierce believer in equitable public education, Rose had children enrolled in public schools for more than 30 consecutive years. Among her words of advice to her children and grandchildren: “Be good. And if you can’t be good, be careful.”

Rose and Al took their children (depending on the decade) to the Indiana Dunes, Pete Seeger concerts, marches against the H-Bomb, and marches for civil rights. Their homes in Hyde Park on Chicago’s South Side and later in Highland Park, Ill., were filled with books, people, and the aroma of crescent cookies and marble cake. In her 40s, Rose studied library science and got a part-time job in her children’s school library.

Rose’s first husband, Albert, then a community college math professor in Chicago, died in 1976. With three children still at home, Rose, at 52, learned to drive and got a new job to support her family.

Six years later, she married her former brother-in-law Martin Steinberg, a widower whose first wife, Betty, was Albert’s sister. She and Marty, a University of California-Santa Barbara chemist, lived in Marty’s Santa Barbara home, which was filled with friends, children, and grandchildren.

One day, Rose stopped by Chaucer’s Bookstore, which was teeming with books waiting to be shelved. She introduced herself to the owner, who said, “Put your purse down and get to work!” Rose became the store’s children’s book buyer.

“I enjoy buying books, getting a preview, and making my private criticism,” she told the Santa Barbara Independent in 1999. “But my favorite part is sharing a good book with a child.”

Rose, who had never before traveled out of the United States, went to Russia, Europe, and China with Marty. Even as their cognition failed with age, their love remained. Marty, who had Parkinson’s disease, died in 2007. Reminiscing about her two husbands with her daughter Debbie, who was so often at her side, Rose quipped, “Are there any other men left in the family for me to marry?”

Rose is survived by her son Paul Soglin and his wife, Sara Soglin, of Madison, Wisc.; daughter Deborah Soglin and her husband, Dan Appelman, of Menlo Park, Calif.; son Ari Soglin and his partner, Suzanne Portnoy, of Albany, Calif., daughter Becky Soglin and her husband, Rusty Hansen, of Iowa City, Iowa; son Jonathan Soglin and his wife, Eve Pearlman, of Alameda, Calif.; stepdaughter and niece Susan Fantl Spivack and her husband, Jay Spivack, of Cobleskill, N.Y.; stepson and nephew Richard Steinberg and his wife, Lisa Belluzzi, of Goleta, Calif., stepson and nephew Steven Steinberg of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and daughter-in-law Rae Lynn Fiscalini of Benicia, Calif.

Rose is also survived by grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Jesse (Beth Mitchell) and Zachary Appelman; Rachael, Alexandra, and Natasha Soglin; Dashiell and Tatiana Soglin; Talia and Oliver Soglin; Jeremy (Faye Halpern) Fantl and Sarah (David LaRosa) Spivack; and Will Steinberg. She also is survived by two step-great-grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.

In addition to being preceded in death by her parents and husbands, Rose was preceded in death by her siblings, brothers- and sisters-in-law, a niece, and many dear friends.

The family thanks the staff at Palo Alto Commons, who lovingly cared for Rose for nearly a decade; Sita, who provided additional aid; and Pathways Hospice Care, Sunnyvale, Calif.
Spouses
Birth6 Feb 1918, Cook County, IL2665,59
Death4 Oct 1976, Kenosha, WI Age: 58
Marriage20 Nov 1942, Cook County, IL2666
ChildrenPaul (1945-)
 Ari (~1960-)
 Becky (Twin) (~1960-)
 Jonathan (Twin) (~1960-)
Birth18 Apr 1920, Chicago, IL
Death10 Aug 2007, Alameda County, CA Age: 87
FatherLeo STEINBERG (1893-1977)
MotherHattie SESKIND (1898-1971)
Marriageabt 1982
Last Modified 31 Dec 2023Created 23 Dec 2024 using Reunion for Macintosh
Created 23 Dec 2024 by David Saul Mittman.
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