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The flag in front of LaPorte City Hall flies at half staff Sunday, Sept. 4, in memory of Jack Rosenberg. (Click photo to enlarge)

Flags in front of LaPorte city facilities are flying at half staff in memory of Jack Rosenberg, longtime civic leader who died Friday, Sept. 2, 2011, after a long illness.

Jack Rosenberg

Rosenberg

Rosenberg, 78, was a member of the LaPorte Board of Public Works and Safety during the administrations of both former Mayor Elmo Gonzalez and current Mayor Kathy Chroback. He continued to serve on the board until recently when his illness prevented him from doing so. He was also president/member of the LaPorte Park and Recreation Board for 24 years. Many LaPorteans also remember Rosenberg as owner of the former Garr Hardware store on State Street, as well as a local realtor.

“He loved this city,” Chroback said of Rosenberg, her longtime friend, adviser and campaign manager. “He was especially passionate about the parks.”

LaPorte Park and Recreation Department Superintendent Dean Heise said Rosenberg served on the park board from 1980 to 2003, and was the board’s president from 1987 to 2000.

“Jack’s years on the board saw our parks grow and prosper,” Heise said. He said Rosenberg’s presence on the board resulted in improvements to:

– Kesling Park, which “had just begun with donations from the H.D. Kesling family of land that was leveraged into federal dollars through Land and Water Conservation funding in excess of $1 million to what it is today. Thirty years later, a new generation of young adults could not imagine LaPorte without Kesling Park.”

– “During the ’90s, Kiwanis Teledyne Park was established with DNR funding to create parking, restrooms and a floating fishing pier,” Heise said. “Additional funding help from neighbor John Diedrich put the finishing touches on a prominent entry point to our city.”

– The Rumely Park neighborhood park was established in the early 1980s through a community block grant, Heise said. “Jack was very involved in the passage of the 1998-99 park bond issue of $ 2.2 million.”

– “Stone Lake Beach, parks and recreation maintenance complex, Civic Auditorium, Beechwood maintenance building, and many neighborhood parks,  playgrounds and restrooms were modernized.”

Heise added that Rosenberg was appointed to the park board by both Republican and Democratic mayors — A.J. Rumely, Gonzalez, Carl Krentz and Chroback.

“Jack was very politically savvy and understood how decisions made would affect the outcome down the road,” Chroback said. “He was always looking to the future, carefully.” While she noted he was a “diehard Democrat” who was involved in the party for many years, she said he did not let politics influence his decisions as a board member. “He truly did what was best for our city.”

Personally, Chroback said she lost “a great friend and a father figure to me. He was my rock in my political career.”

Heise expressed similar sentiments. “To me he was a true friend that I confided with for both personal and city/park matters,” he said. “True friends don’t always tell you what you want to hear. He was always compassionate and fair in addition to being a good listener.” Many called Jack “Rosie,” but Heise said “I’d call him ‘Mr. Rosenberg’ just to antagonize him, as would unhappy citizens showing at public meetings.”

“He will be missed dearly by our city family, especially the department heads,” Chroback said. “He looked out for each and every one of them.”

Rosenberg “left his mark on our city and its citizens and he left his mark on me,” said Chroback, who ordered all city flags to fly at half staff until after Rosenberg’s funeral on Wednesday.

“Jack loved the City of LaPorte, cared for its employees, and had a special feeling for all of our parks, all the facilities and programs for our citizens,” Heise said. “Jack could be a fierce competitor when necessary in a sometimes tough political world. I considered him a man of religious faith and an extreme love of family. He was a special person who made a huge difference in the ‘call to serve.’”

A funeral Mass for Rosenberg will be Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at St. Peter Catholic Church. Visitation is at Essling Funeral Home on Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

To read the full obituary on WNLP, click on the following link:

http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2011/09/03/john-w-jack-rosenberg-1932-2011/