Obituary of Dr. Ada P. Rosen

Dr Ada P Rosen, affectionately known as Mamala to all, was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1924.  She was the adored youngest daughter of Ettie and Sam Pinkofsky, immigrants from Russia.  She truly never met a stranger, and was voted “Most Charming” in high school.  A woman of incredible resilience, her life was full of love and laughter.

She attended Brooklyn College, got her Master’s degree from Columbia University, and at age 65 received her PhD from Columbia Pacific University.  Her doctoral thesis in psychology was about the myriad benefits of humor. She made a habit of attending the Big Apple Circus every year with her grandchildren, at first in the Berkshires and later at Lincoln Center in NYC.  No one was surprised when she attended Clown College and became an official clown!

Ada liked to say she raised “…a bunch of hippies,” which is true. She and her first husband, Dr Herb Rosen, had three boys, but her home in Dover, NJ was a safe haven for all of their friends and in reality, she had fifteen or 20 children.  She was quite proud when she heard that the parent of one of those friends said they didn’t want their daughter “…going up there with all those free thinkers…” Food was her love language; hungry or not, coffee and cake were staples at her table.

In the summer of 1969 her kids said they were going to a concert in New York State.  To her, going to a concert meant Tchaikovsky or Beethoven – Woodstock wasn’t what she had in mind, but when she started seeing on the local news where her children had gone in their converted school bus, she loved it.

And every summer, her whole family, including her two sisters and their children, would descend on Four Bridges in Chester - a bungalow colony her parents owned and operated in the country. Ada became the Arts and Crafts Counselor. It was a charmed life.

To say that Ada was a force of nature doesn’t quite capture it. She didn’t just radiate positivity, she also drew everyone in with her warm smile and welcoming spirit.

In the 1970s as a newly single woman, she attended a counseling conference. Following one particular meeting, a man followed her into an elevator.  That man was Hudson Favell, who won Ada’s hand in marriage, and for the next 40 years never left her side except to carve totem poles that later, Ada would paint. He was an ex-Baptist missionary and pastoral counselor, and they traveled the world together.

Whether touring the hospital in Ghana that Hudson helped to build, visiting Japan many times, finding Jewish relatives in Minsk, or boating down the Amazon with cousin Sue Marcus, their adventures were legendary, as was her famous annual sit down Seder for the multitudes!

Any situation in life was ripe for a Yiddish saying, and she would give them out like candy to anyone in need of a little nudge in the right direction. “It will press out,” was said to console; “With one behind you can’t sit on ten toilets,” was meant to ease anxiety, and seems a propos in these pandemic times; and “What’s on his mind is on his tongue,” could explain the current occupant of the White House.

A marriage and family counselor, Ada practiced her craft in her office next to the kitchen – the boundary between home and office was semi-permeable. It would be impossible to count the number of lives she’s touched over 96 years. Students, clients, interns have all become friends. She could get on a plane in Newark for her 90^th Birthday celebration and get off in Cabo San Lucas with an entire fuselage of new friends.

Ada was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Mary and Bertha, and her beloved son Richard. She leaves behind her two sons, Jeff and Robert Rosen, his wife Christine Lynn Rosen, and her grandchildren Dr Jessica Lynn Rosen and David James Rosen, and their spouses Matt Semler, and Caitly Balthazar; and grandson Sam Rosen. Just before moving to Nashville, Ada discovered a lost granddaughter, Tamara Rush and her two boys, Jacob and Jackson. These newly-discovered relatives only added to her utter delight with great-grandchildren Caroline and Jack Semler.  Ada is also survived by step-children, nieces, nephews and cousins galore.

All arrangements are private by Tuttle Funeral Home, Randolph(www.tuttlefh.com).

She so wanted to witness President Biden’s inauguration. In her memory, although Ada Flora loved flowers, she would rather you vote and contribute to the ACLU https://www.aclu.org/