Melvin J. Roseman

Mel Roseman, a dedicated teacher and union activist died on June 25, 2014 after a brief struggle with cancer. Mel¹s life and career modeled the adage that you can take a teacher out of the classroom but you can¹t take teaching out of a teacher. A native Angeleno,

he was a graduate of North

Hollywood High and UCLA. Mel majored in Music and expressed a lifelong

love of music through his support of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He earned his

MA in English through a fellowship while teaching. Mel served two years military

service in the Signal Corps in Austria during the Korean War and was a

proud

veteran¹s advocate for peace. A passionate defender of fair housing and

equal

opportunity, Mel and his wife Gladys supported the San Fernando Valley Fair

Housing Council to combat discrimination in housing opportunities.

Mel initially taught the developmentally disabled at Sutter JHS

beginning in September 1956, taught English at Polytechnic HS. He taught

ESL at Birmingham HS until his retirement in 1992. He was active in the formation

of the teacher¹s union, joining AFT Local 1021 his first month after his

employment as a teacher. He walked the lines in several key strikes that solidified

the formation of United Teachers of Los Angeles. He remained active in the

union after retirement supporting the rights and contributions of retired

teachers.

Perhaps Mel¹s greatest

contribution to his community was to educate teachers and others about

using the Internet. An early missionary for Internet use, Mel gave individual

instruction and held workshops, especially to help older adults benefit

from the

new technology. Mel was a founding staff member of the nonprofit L.A.

Free-Net, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Mel provided

technical support to LAFN and its users until shortly before his death.

Mel is survived by

his loving wife, Gladys, by his children Marcia, Barry, Barbara, and Sara

Eve, by four grandchildren Jeremy, Ethan, Seth, and Ella, and by his sister

Irene Radner. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (www.lafoodbank.org)

Services will be held graveside in Eden Memorial Park on Friday, June 27 at 2:00 PM.

Arrangements under the direction of Groman Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills, CA.