Marilyn C. Rothenberg

Marilyn (nee Platzman), 89, of Brick, NJ, formerly of New Milford, NJ, died peacefully in her own bed, holding hands with her daughters on February 22, 2015. Born in Brooklyn, NY, to Irving David Platzman born in Austria-Hungary and Pearl Platzman (nee Petrekovsky) born in Brooklyn, NY, Marilyn showed great promise as a young girl in the performing arts always singing and dancing and starring in high school plays. Marilyn attended Jersey State Teacher's College and participated in the Glee Club. During college in the early 1940's she volunteered weekends at the hospital. Her artistic talent led her to study fashion design at Traphagen School of Design in 1945 after which she started a career in fashion advertising. In 1949, Marilyn married Irving A. Rothenberg born in Binghamton, NY, living in Paterson at the time. They married and settled in New Milford and had two daughters. When the girls were in elementary school, Marilyn became a substitute teacher in the New Milford Public School system which afforded her flexibility and tapped into her versatility. She spoke some French and Spanish and provided the teacher's classwork even in science and math, her bête noire. This, her optimism, and her good humor with students earned her the moniker "The Super Sub." One former student said, "She's no substitute." Her compassion was valued as she would be the only one to be called to cover the intellectually disabled class. In addition to participating in NMHS teacher plays, Marilyn was best known for presenting the "Dolls For Democracy" to classes and groups around Bergen County in the 1960's. Created by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the program promoted understanding and tolerance for people of all different races, religions and colors. Wanting her own set of dolls for frequent use, Marilyn enlisted the NMHS wood shop's class to make profiles that she decorated into dolls that resembled famous leaders. She researched, wrote and presented monologues about MLK, Emma Lazarus, Gandhi, GW Carver, JFK, Jane Addams, Albert Einstein, Jackie Robinson, and Abraham Lincoln. She started her presentation by saying, "I may look a little old to be playing with dolls, but these are special dolls…" and she would convey the significance of their lives and work. Please share memories with family via [emailprotected] Surviving: Louise Rothenberg of Lincolnshire, IL; Margery Rothenberg of Suffern, NY and grandchildren, Helen and Mark Teschauer