Sylvia "Dutch" Rosenwasser, 1920-2006

Sylvia 'Dutch' Ness Rosenwasser,  Educator

Dutch Rosenwasser, 86, an educator who in the early 1960s was chairman of the English department at Thomas A. Edison High School in Fairfax County, died of respiratory failure Nov. 24 at Roper Hospital in Charleston, S.C.

Mrs. Rosenwasser, a Washington area resident for more than 60 years, was born in Manning, S.C., and raised in Denmark, S.C. In 1941, she graduated from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C., where she had served as editor of the student newspaper. In that capacity, she interviewed then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

At the start of World War II, after a brief time as an eighth-grade schoolteacher, she enlisted in the Navy WAVES and reported to Washington to work on breaking Japanese code. She served as a lieutenant until 1946.

Returning to education, Mrs. Rosenwasser taught at Rose Hill Elementary School in Fairfax before moving to the newly opened Edison High School in 1962.

She chaired Edison's English department for about two years and spearheaded innovative new programs, including one that used rap to help students develop problem-solving techniques.

Mrs. Rosenwasser also chaired the principal's advisory committee for staff development and Edison's accreditation committee.

She mentored new teachers and counseled students and their parents through educational and family difficulties, said her daughter, Penny Rosenwasser. Among her peers, Mrs. Rosenwasser had gained a reputation for making her students feel important and special with encouragement and support.

After retiring from Edison in 1982, Ms. Rosenwasser volunteered at a mental health center in Fairfax and trained tutors to help adult learners.

In 1990, she received the Outstanding Service Award from the Fairfax public schools.

She was a past representative to the Fairfax Education Association and an active member of the National Council of Jewish Women and the Women's National Democratic Club.

Her husband, Arthur Rosenwasser, retired chief judge of the Coast Guard Court of Military Review, died in 2003.

In addition to her daughter of Oakland, Calif.; survivors include a son, David Rosenwasser of Allentown, Pa.; two brothers; a sister; and a granddaughter.

© Copyright, The Washington Post

An email Pearl Watts, '71, sent to friends:

"Highlights" from the obit included that she was born in Manning, SC (1920) and then raised in Denmark, SC before graduating from Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC.
As editor of the student newspaper at Winthrop, she interviewed then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Not one to shy away from the spotlight, even at an early age, it seems.
  
Mrs. Rosenwasser was an enlistee in the Navy WAVES near the start of WW II and served as a lieutenant until 1946. She also actually taught at Rose Hill elementary school before changing over to Edison at its start in 1962 and retired from there in 1982, after which she volunteered at a mental health center in Fairfax and also trained tutors to help adult learners.

In 1990 she received the Outstanding Service Award from the Fairfax public school system. Mrs. Rosenwasser was a past representative of the Fairfax Education Association and an active member of the National Council of Jewish Women.

Hubby Arthur Rosenwasser passed away in 2003 and was retired chief judge of the Coast Guard Court of Military Review.   She leaves behind daughter Penny Rosenwasser of Oakland, CA and son David Rosenwasser of Allentown, PA; two brothers, a sister and a granddaughter.

I believe I had her for just one section of thematic English in my senior year. I remember that one of the books that we did read for that class was God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut.

Had my term paper for her to grade also. Did it on how the early times and life of Bill Cosby had influenced his comedy records and also his present day living, at the then current time of 1971.
I was able to finagle that as my project because the term paper had to involve something from English classes at Edison while you had been there and one of the thematic units, (I think they lasted six weeks back then ?) either my sophomore or junior year had to do with comedy.  
I think we had Huckleberry Finn as our required reading, but spent most of the time in class listening and laughing to Bill Cosby comedy albums.  

Cosby with his Why Is There Air album. His intelligent college girlfriend walking around asking that question when phys ed major Bill knew she was really stupid not to realize that you have air to blow up footballs, basketballs and volleyballs, dummy.   What classics all those albums are, but I digress.

Anyways, I remember I got an overall grade of B on the term paper. Got an A for content but a C for organization, punctuation, etc.etc.   I guess she could see right through me that I had pretty much whipped it up the night before on a typewriter about as old as her (nice to know I am now older than Mrs. Rosenwasser was at that time).

Last time I saw her and talked to her was at the funeral home for Monroe Parker's passing. When I walked up, she was standing outside the place chit-chatting with one Jerry Neufang and deciding if she wanted to bum a drag or two off of a cigarette or not. Decisions, decisions. Weighing the positives and negatives in a discussion type mode. Even though Mr. Neufang seemed to have changed somewhat from the crew cut coach I had remembered, Mrs. Rosenwasser still seemed to be the teacher I recalled from the high school years.

Not sure if Mrs. Rosenwasser ever wanted to figure out why there is air, but I'm sure Jerry and Pappy could have set her on the right track, back in the day.