Husband:
Cyrus FELDMAN (1919-1990)
Wife:
Rose POLONSKY (1922-2016)
Children:
Marriage:
Dec 26, 1942
Philadelphia, PA
Name:
Cyrus FELDMAN
Sex:
Male
Father:
-
Mother:
-
Birth:
Aug 7, 1919
Philadelphia, PA
Death:
1990 (age 70-71)
Oak Ridge, TN
Name:
Rose POLONSKY
Sex:
Female
Father:
-
Mother:
-
Birth:
Feb 19, 1922
Philadelphia, PA
Death:
Dec 3, 2016 (age 94)
Oak Ridge, TN
Name:
Joan FELDMAN
Sex:
Female
Spouse:
Birth:
Oct 22, 1943
Philadelphia, PA
Death:
Sep 11, 2009 (age 65)
Maryland
Name:
Henry FELDMAN
Sex:
Male
Spouse:
Name:
Alice FELDMAN
Sex:
Female
Spouse (1):
Spouse (2):
Name:
Benjamin FELDMAN
Sex:
Male
Spouse:
Name:
Robert FELDMAN
Sex:
Male
Spouse:
Rose Polonsky Feldman, an Oak Ridge pioneer and longtime fixture in
community life, died at age 94 on Dec. 3, 2016, after several months
of declining health. She had been a resident of Greenfield Senior
Living in Oak Ridge since 2014.
Rose arrived in Oak Ridge in 1944 to join her husband Cyrus Feldman, a
chemist with the Army's Special Engineering Detachment. They settled
in Oak Ridge after the war, raising five children and contributing to
community life in multiple ways over several decades. Rose and Cy were
founding members of the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge and actively
supported the Oak Ridge Playhouse, Civic Music Association, Art Center
and Arts Council. Rose served on the Playhouse board and on numerous
auxiliary committees of the Jewish Congregation.
Rose was employed for 20 years as a biochemical technician in the
Biology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her role in her
supervisors' research on atherosclerosis and RNA transcription earned
her co-authorship on a number of published papers.
An energetic presence, though barely five feet tall, Rose was known
and loved for her sunny disposition, eager intellect and perpetual
enthusiasm for meeting new people. She made a habit of befriending
visiting scientists from all over the world, inviting their families
to dinner, tutoring their spouses in English and teaching their
children music or crafts. She regularly hosted post-concert receptions
for ORCMA's visiting musicians.
Rose Polonsky was born in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1922, to immigrant
parents from Eastern Europe. She had an older sister Sylvia and
younger brothers Leonard and Aaron. Her father Samuel was a carpenter,
and the family lived over her grandfather's tailor shop. Hours spent
talking with her grandfather at his sewing machine led Rose to an
adult avocation of making clothes, as well as costumes, puppets and
dolls for her own children and grandchildren.
An outstanding student, Rose ranked first in the graduating class of
1938 at Philadelphia High School for Girls, the city's magnet school.
She won a tuition scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania,
living at home and commuting to class by streetcar.
At Penn, she concentrated in chemistry, despite resistance from the
all-male faculty, and earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She met her
future husband in the Penn library, when she asked him for help in
translating a German technical term. They were married in 1942, but
had to endure many months apart when Cy was drafted into the Army.
They ultimately reunited in Oak Ridge when living space became
available for G.I. spouses.
In the 1980s, Rose twice turned her own adversity into concrete
benefit for the community. After recovering from a hospital-acquired
infection, she pressed the Oak Ridge Hospital to review and improve
its infection control procedures. Her collision with a locomotive at
an unmarked crossing in Emory Valley left her unhurt but prompted the
railroad to install warning signals.
When Cy, her husband and life partner of nearly 50 years, died
suddenly in 1990, Rose sought direction in life by moving to Boston,
near her oldest son and his family. Alternating among many cultural
activities that attracted her, she took classes in history and art,
made tours of India, Japan and Israel, and joined Yiddish reading and
conversation groups. Only when her mobility and hearing became
severely limited in 2014 did Rose give up independent living and opt
for a retirement community back home in Oak Ridge.