A gentle soul slipped off this mortal coil a couple of weeks ago. It was the things not said about him in his obituary that rankled me the most. And those are the things I am going to write about for you tonight.
I grew up reading the Reader's Digest as a child. I enjoyed the different joke sections, the word power section and the stories. But my favorite section was the "Most Unforgettable Character" section of the monthly magazine. After I flipped through all the pages and read the jokes that was always the first story I read. I often wonder if I would ever meet someone that I could place in that category in my life. I did and this is an homage to a fine fellow that passed away last week at the ripe-old age of 95 after having lived a full and interesting life. He had a pleasant obituary in the newspaper that cited his many friends and accomplishments through the years, but I felt missed one important element that was the very essence of Isador (Izzy) Rosenbloom right down to his very bones.
First let me tell you a little bit about Izzy and how I came to know him over twenty years ago. Born December 13, 1911, Izzy moved to Denver in time to complete his High School education. He started driving that trolley for the city back in the forties then went on to own some of the most popular local bars even though he neither smoke nor drank himself. This was when he began to 'collect' people.
At the time I met him in 1985 when he was working as a para-professional in the restaurant program of the main magnet high school for vocational, technical and the arts for the city school system. My husband had just become one of two new vice-principals in the schools that fall. This was an amazing and vibrant school. The first time I walked in the door I could feel the most incredible sense of energy and enthusiasm that I have ever felt in any school I had even been in.
One day, after he had settled in to his routine, my husband invited me over for lunch and a full tour of the school. At the time Izzy was the maitre d' for the program that taught the students all the functions of restaurant work. The first thing I noticed about Izzy was his smiling eyes when he was introduced to me. It is one of those things I notice about people and his eyes were full of smiles that matched the one on his face. After our meal, Izzy stop by our table to serve us coffee and stayed for a chat. Something clicked or maybe it was just Izzy's way with everyone, but I felt completely at ease and was soon smiling broadly back at him.
Izzy was famous around the city for his 'lunches' which were really old-fashioned 'smokers' that he gave for over 50 years. He knew all the city's movers and shakers and quite a few very powerful businessmen, but he was not the least bit vain in his connections and treated everyone the same no matter what their status. If you were a good human being that was good enough for Izzy.
I loved the stories my husband would come home and tell about Izzy's smokers each year. These were not small gatherings but got close to a hundred people at their peak years. Izzy also made it a habit to invite all the female staff out for a lovely lunch each spring during Secretaries week in April. I was honored to be included in these lovely outings as well. He didn't stint one bit on these occasions and loved having all the ladies to himself. At every outing I was amazed at how wonderfully the staff of each different restaurant treated Izzy. It was about this time that I started calling him, 'Iz-adorable' which would always make him laugh and give me a wink.
Izzy would often invite couples out to dinner and never failed to have an attractive women on his arm. He was the consummate gentleman and loved to dance until his knees failed him well into his eighties. By this time his title at the school had been changed to 'Official Greeter' and he certainly lived up to the name. The kids at the school always ranked him in the top five of the most important things about the school on the climate survey that was taken each year. In the mornings he was at the door with a pocket full of peppermints to hand out as he said 'Hi' and wished them a good day.
Before he drove himself to work each day he called his granddaughter to wake her up with the time, the temperature and an 'I love you'. Her alarm clock had broken years before and with that kind of service she decided not to replace it. He enjoyed calling her each morning as much as she loved being awakened by his calls.
My husband's school had a day care program for the little ones and they always greeted Izzy when they went out to play on the playground. Izzy was sad to see the state of disrepair that playground had fallen into so after talking it over with the administration it was decide that Izzy was going to host a fundraiser at the school to relocate and completely rebuild the playground. Some well placed calls to his friends of many years and success was assured for 'Izzy's Playground'. The children now had a safe and fun playground on the sunny side of the building and Izzy was very happy about that.
One of the funniest stories happen one day between Izzy and my husband. Izzy's duties had been expanded to include running errands between the administration building and the school by this time. A new superintendent was filling in an until a permanent one could be located. It just so happen that my husband knew this man from many years ago. One day the superintendent had been invited to the school to view the new CAD system in the drafting program. This was the mid-eighties and they were rare as hen's teeth in the schools at that time. In fact this was the only one in the state at a high school level.
In the course of the demonstration the superintendent tried out the program and produce a picture that was printed out. Later the principal thought it might be a nice gesture to have it framed and presented to him. My husband took care of that and had it wrapped and sitting by his desk waiting to be delivered downtown. Izzy poked his head in the door while my husband was deep into a project on his computer. His back was to the door when he spoke to Izzy telling him to take 'That picture' downtown. Izzy replied, "You want me to take 'this picture' downtown?" "Yes," said my husband, "They are expecting it." So off Izzy went with 'the picture'.
A little while later my husband received a call from the puzzled secretary of the superintendent. She said there was a gentleman here with a picture for the superintendent and she wanted to know why he wanted the superintendent to see this picture. About that time my husband swung around in his chair to see the wrapped picture still sitting beside his desk and the framed family portrait missing from his desk. When he realized what had happened he explained the mix up but finished with, "Go ahead and show the picture to the superintendent and tell him this family needs a raise!" The superintendent had a good laugh and sent back a note to my husband saying, "Nice try, but no luck. However, I do give you points for ingenuity!" A good laugh was had by all over the incident and Izzy always loved to tell the story of the time he took our family portrait to the superintendent's office to beg for a raise for our family. That story joined Izzy's vast repertoire as he loved storytelling and told them so well.
My husband was the vice principal in charge of discipline and outside his office were some chairs that Izzy often sat in waiting for the next errand he had to run. Sometimes his eyes would get a little heavy and he would take a little snooze. He heard many a discipline session going on in my husband's office over the years and he had a great deal of respect for the way my husband handled students and parents during those sessions. He marveled that no student ever left that office without being rebuilt after stern words were applied. My husband always found something for the student to feel good about before they left that room. Seldom was there a repeat offense. One trait Izzy and my husband shared was they would much rather catch someone doing something right and give praise than the other way around.
After a hiatus of five years in another position my husband came back to the high school as the principal in the mid nineties. Izzy was still there, albeit much slower in step. He still had the same wonderful smile and huge heart. We had kept in contact during those years my husband was not part of the staff through social occasions and frequent phone calls. Once you were on Izzy's radar you stayed. He even insisted on inviting me to the Secretary Appreciation luncheon each year just so we could visit. He knew how much I loved that school and all the people that worked there.
My husband's stint as principal lasted three years before he was moved to a new position downtown. Once again it was a sad goodbye to a wonderful place of excited learning and caring staff. Izzy was the oldest working person in the school system and with budget axes swinging widely his position was cut after my husband left the school. Izzy was crushed as he lived for getting up every day and making a difference even though his body was rebelling, his spirit was as strong as ever. He was 90 years old and out of work for the first time in all the decades of his adult life.
His daughter and granddaughter could see that time and age were taking a toll as Izzy's knees made it too hard for him to move about much. They found him a very nice assisted-living facility and after some grumbling Izzy moved in. It didn't take long for him to have the entire staff charmed and the other residents smiling when he was around. Once again Izzy worked his magic and the environment around him benefited.
So what did the obituary miss that I felt was the most important thing about Izzy Rosenbloom's life? As I mentioned above Izzy collected people for the nicest reasons possible. He loved connecting with people not for just himself, but for helping other people make connections. The vast Rolodex in his mind was always looking for ways to help people in need. Need a better job? Izzy would hand you a scrap of paper a number to call about a position he had 'heard' about. Need some funding for a project? Izzy would work his connections to open doors for you. Have a thorny problem to be solved? Izzy knew who to call to cut through red-tape. And he did all that and more in a very quiet manner. It was just who he was. A connector. For all his friends and all his accomplishments I think that is what he enjoyed to most in his life. That and waking up his granddaughter each morning.
I will miss Izzy for his gentle soul and his smiling blue eyes, but I am far richer for having known this fine man.