Frederick H. Rosenfeld

Frederick Harvey Rosenfeld was born October 16th, 1937 in Phoenix, Arizona, to Fred W. Rosenfeld and Alice Harvey Rosenfeld. In 1961, Fred was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he trained at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri before serving in the reserve for six years.

Fred was a kind, honest, humble, deeply ethical, and moral gentleman. He married Marilyn Louise Saxman on August 10th, 1963. Together, they raised their three children and helped foster the growth of their grandchildren. Fred viewed it as his principal duty and responsibility to provide for his family--evidenced by his unflappable work ethic and many beach vacations spent waiting for faxes and deliveries of legal documents. Still, despite his strong dedication to work, Fred also made time to enjoy Irish coffee, caramel corn and root beer floats, and steadfastly attended his children’s and grandchildren’s dance recitals, and sporting events, as well as their academic ceremonies.

Fred joined Gust Rosenfeld in 1964, practicing municipal bonds law. He successfully represented the voting rights of renters before the Supreme Court of the United States in City of Phoenix v. Kolodziejski (1970). Additionally, Fred’s work helped secure one of the largest bonds in the history of water conservation districts and helped secure municipal bonds that contributed to paved streets, clean water, and new schools across Arizona. Fred was recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America® in the categories of Corporate Law, Municipal Law, and Public Finance Law every year since 1983. Fred is also a distinguished co-founder of the American College of Bond Counsel and recent inductee to the Maricopa County Bar Association Hall of Fame. Fred’s legal work has had an indelible legacy resulting in Arizona being the state it is today. Still, he remained humble. Despite his considerable legal accolades, one of the accomplishments Fred was most vocal about was working for the plastic fabrication company contracted to build the flying Dumbos for the original Flying Dumbo ride at Disneyland!

Fred similarly had a tremendous impact on those he came into contact with. Among his colleagues, he will be known for his encyclopedic knowledge of Arizona history, keen intellect and his quick wit. Among his friends, he will be remembered as a quick-witted, kind and caring man, whom displayed earnest respect for all. Among his family, he will be remembered for his unconditional and unrelenting support of our endeavors, even our dumb endeavors. But Fred had a way of impacting even strangers. From the 1970’s through the 1990’s, Fred raced miniature model airplane propeller-driven cars, built by hand in his workshop with primitive tools. He flamboyantly lost year after year, but one year made it to the championship race. A predictable mishap with the car and an injury resulted in a second-place finish--still, the trophy that year read “While Chingaderos Racing Team may have won the race, Fred won the crowd.”

Fred was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn, and is survived by his daughter, Ann; his daughter, Lisa and son-in-law, Brent; his son, Bill and daughter-in-law Tracey; and his grandchildren: Sarah, Daniel, Michael, Lauren and Tyler.

A service is planned for Sunday, April 13th at 2pm at the University Club of Phoenix (39 E. Monte Vista, Phoenix, AZ 85004). To RSVP, please email [email protected] or call (480)578-7138 and leave a voicemail by April 1st, 2025.

The family respectfully requests donations to Hospice of the Valley in lieu of flowers.