Barbara (Soloff) Rosenthal

Barbara (Soloff) Rosenthal, 71, of Harvest Lane, West Hartford, wife of Charles H. Press, died Monday, December 17, 2007. Born in Bridgeport, she was the daughter of the late Max and Mildred (Laden) Soloff. She received a BS degree from Boston University and a Masters from Central Connecticut State University. Barbara began her career at Day, Berry & Howard as a Word Processing Operator, quickly rising through the ranks to become the Human Resources Director and Assistant Director of Administration and eventually was named Executive Director in 1995. She retired in 2001, but continued supporting a variety of projects throughout the firm. She was the first Chair of the Diversity and Sensitivity Committee and was a proponent of women?s and parental rights, introducing adoption benefits, lactation rooms, domestic partner benefits and paternity leaves to Day, Berry & Howard. In 1999, Barbara created the formal paralegal management program to assist paralegals in maximizing their contributions to the practice. She devoted many hours to non-profit organizations throughout the Hartford region including the United Way, Capital Community College and the Hartford High School mentor program. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Connecticut Legal Services and, following breast cancer, she became active as a founding member and serving on the board of the Partners for Breast Care at Hartford Hospital. She was a Hebrew school teacher at Beth Hillel Synagogue, Bloomfield, and a life member of Hadassah. Besides her husband, she leaves a son, Matthew S. Rosenthal and his wife Christine McNeil of West Hartford; three daughters Melissa E. Somosky and her husband Stephen of Glastonbury, Dr. Martha S. Rosenthal and her partner Debra Lewis of Ft. Meyers, FL, Amy L. Rosenthal and her husband Jonathan den Hering of Harrisburg, PA; three grandchildren: Jake, Katie and Abby Somosky; a sister Beth Derby of Old Saybrook; a step son Bruce Press and his wife Julie of Ellicot City, MD; two step daughters Judy Ascioti of Springfield, MA and Alyssa Miranda and her husband Enrique of Palm Hurst, TX; and eight step grandchildren. She was predeceased by a sister Marilyn Gordon. Funeral services will be held TODAY, Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 10:00 AM in the Chapel of the Weinstein Mortuary, 640 Farmington Ave., Hartford with interment in the Congregation Rodeph Sholom Memorial Park, Fairfield. A memorial period will be observed at her home, 78 Harvest La., West Hartford Wednesday 6-9 PM through Thursday evening. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 538 Preston Ave., PO Box 1004, Meriden 06450. For further information, directions, or to share memories of Barbara with her family, please visit online at www.weinsteinmortuary.com.