Joseph S. Rosenthal

February 14, 1938 - March 21, 2020

Joseph S. Rosenthal, age 82, passed away on March 21, 2020 in Leawood, KS. A beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, great uncle and friend, Joe was born on February 14, 1938, in Lubbock, TX where he enjoyed being a ball boy for the Lubbock Hubbers, a minor league baseball team owned by his mother, the first woman owner of a professional baseball team in the United States. Joe graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with both undergraduate and law degrees. He practiced law for many years in St. Louis and was co-owner of Martin Coin Company. Joe served in both the Army and Navy, including a two-year posting in Germany as a first Lieutenant in the Army Military Police where he and his wife, Beverly, witnessed the construction of the Berlin Wall. Following the death of his father when Joe was nine years old, his family moved to St. Louis. Though no longer in Texas, he still wore cowboy boots and blue jeans wherever he went, earning the nickname Texas Joe. In the sixth grade he found himself seated next to Beverly Gorelick. It wasn’t until they were seniors in high school that he finally asked her out. From that time on, they were never apart. Married fifty-nine years, theirs was a love for the ages. They had two children, Sam and Anne. Joe enjoyed visiting Sam, his wife Lisa, and their girls, Sandy, Morgan and Alle, in New Jersey and particularly liked being with them at the Jersey shore. Twelve years ago, Joe and Beverly moved to Kansas City to be close to Anne and her three girls, Alex, Davi and Zoe. Joe was an avid reader, especially of history and science fiction and he loved old, classic films. He had an inquiring mind and a quick, sharp wit. He took a deep and active interest in the lives of his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephew, and grandnieces and grandnephews. He always told them to do what would make them happy. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel and Adelayde Rosenthal, and his sister, Joyce. He is survived by his wife Beverly, his son, Sam and his wife, Lisa, and their daughters Sandy, Morgan and Alle. He is also survived by his daughter Anne and her three daughters Alex, Davi and Zoe and by Anne’s husband, Jon Anderson. He is also survived by his nephew, Stuart Bodker, his wife Tensy and their children, Jessica, Michael, and Ariel and her husband Geoffrey. Also surviving are Joe’s niece, Hildy Goldman, her husband Joel Goldman and their three children, Aaron, Michele and Daniel and his wife Stephanie and their children, Greyson and Asher. He is also survived by his first cousins, Joe Rosenthal, his wife Ann, and Stanley Rosenthal and his wife Harriet. A private funeral service will be held following burial at Mt. Carmel Cemetery on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association or to the Rose Family Early Childhood Education Center at Congregation Beth Shalom in Overland Park, KS.