Rhoda Rosenthal

Rhoda Rosenthal was born in Bayonne, New Jersey on April 2nd, 1931 to Abram Turteltaub and Gertrude Wigdor Turteltaub. She spent two years at Bennington College and finished her BA at Sarah Lawrence College in 1975. She attended Yale Law School, breaking age and gender barriers, and graduated in 1979.  This led to a career as counsel for W.R. Grace Restaurant Group. Living in Westport, Connecticut from 1955 to 1985, Rhoda was married to Edwin R. Green from 1950 to 1970. Subsequently she married Herbert C. Rosenthal in 1971 and they were together until his death in 2007. She and Herb relocated to California in 1985, settling in Santa Barbara in 1991. Rhoda was an accomplished pianist, studying piano at Bennington College and continued to play throughout her life making public performances regularly. She also played string bass in the Norwalk (Connecticut) Symphony and was on the symphony board (1980s). She was a founding member of the Lib Trio of Westport, Connecticut. Rhoda was an active and dedicated volunteer with Santa Barbara Planned Parenthood for more than 20 years, and was on the board of the Santa Barbara Library and the Women’s Board of the Santa Barbara Symphony.  Rhoda was an avid crossword puzzle solver, doing the New York Sunday Times puzzles in ink  and a competitive Scrabble player. She is survived by her children Teresa Green (Ettore Cosentini, of Uzzano, Italy), Bill Green (Linda Durakis, of Westport, Connecticut), and Maria Green Cohen (Jeffrey Cohen, of Bexley, Ohio). She is also survived by her step-children Rob (Sonia Banwer), Steve, and Larry Rosenthal; and her eight grandchildren Sam and Annie Rosenthal; Tessa, Amelia, and Sophia Green; Max and Annabelle Cohen; and Matteo Cosentini. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to Planned Parenthood.  A celebration of her life took place on Friday, December 6 at the Valle Verde Theater in Santa Barbara, CA.