Pearl Rosenthal, 96, of Charlotte, NC died June 15, 2020. She was born in Boston, the middle of three children including sister, Ethel Rosen and brother, Irving (Moishe) Cahn. Her father, Reuben Cahn, was a violinist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and her mother, Martha Holczer, was a homemaker. Her maternal grandfather, Chaim Yankel (Henry) Holczer, was a cantor at the Great Synagogue of Budapest before immigrating to Boston in 1895.
Pearl was educated in the Boston public schools and at age 16 secretly auditioned and won a scholarship to study voice at the New England Conservatory of Music. She later attended Boston University. She sang in Broadway musicals and locally produced performances throughout New England as time allowed while working as a secretary.
At age 26, Pearl married Alvin Rosenthal, had three children, and was fulfilled in her many roles including home-making, sewing, cooking, singing regularly with the Boston Bnai Brith Choral Group, organizing and performing fund-raisers for Hadassah and being den mother for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and working at Salem Hospital. Pearl surrounded her three children with music and encouraged them to sing and play instruments. She was devoted to her family, friends and the Jewish community and modeled positivity with a “why not?" spirit, which her loved ones still emulate. She always focused on the ‘good’ in each person she met.
Pearl and Alvin Rosenthal left Marblehead for Florida in 1989 and lived there for 18 years, where she started the Palm Shores Chorus assisted by Estelle Bendersky. In 2008, after Al passed away, she moved to Brookdale’s Carriage Club in Charlotte, NC where she formed and directed the Carriage Club chorus. Always the professional musician, she insisted her performers stood tall and straight even if they had to lean on walkers or canes.
Pearl leaves behind three children and their spouses and families who remain very close and are all musical. Her son, Rich Rosenthal and wife Jenny live in Charlotte; her daughter, Judith Bendersky and husband Jim live in Washington state; and her daughter, Dr. Elaine Mormer and husband Karl live in Pittsburgh. Pearl adored her grandchildren: Abby, David, Ruth, Hannah, Natalie, Beth and great-grandchild, Lyla; many nieces and nephews, including Ellen, Jack, Paula, Janet and Cesar, Bobby and Amy; and others that she adopted as her own, including Ellie, Larry and Drorit and her extended family in Israel.
Pearl is grateful for the kind staff and many friends at Carriage Club, including the chorus singers and friends she enjoyed playing Mah-Jong with, as well as friends at Temple Israel.
Pearl will be laid to rest next to her beloved husband, Al Rosenthal, in Florida and the family will celebrate her life when it’s safe to meet in the future.
Memorial gifts in Pearl Rosenthal’s memory can be made to Tosco Music. https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E341213&id=15
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