Rosalie Wagner
Denver native Rosalie Wagner died on June 2, 2025. She was 84. A service was held at Rose Hill Cemetery on June 5, followed by a celebration of life at Temple Sinai. Feldman Mortuary handled the arrangements.
Born on December 22, 1940, Ms. Wagner’s father Harry died when Rosalie was seven. Mother Sarah worked full time, and Rosalie and her older brother Abe went to The Denver Sheltering Home for Jewish Children for six years. She later attended North High School.
Abe worked at the Jewish Community Center while he went to school at DU, and Rosalie followed him to the JCC as a part-time worker. It was the beginning of a 54-year career there for her.
While at the JCC, Ms. Wagner held many positions, including head bookkeeper. She was honored at the JCC’s annual dinner in 2008, marking her 50th year there. Ms. Wagner retired four years later.
“Whenever a question arose that people could not answer, the phrase ‘Call Rosie’ was usually uttered, for she knew who to call,” her family said. “She was caring and competent and loved her job and the people associated with it.”
Survivors are Ms. Wagner’s brother Abe (Susan Friedman) Wagner; nephews David, Daniel and Douglas (Renee Stocker) Wagner, Cliff Erickson and Larry (Angela Marie) and David Israel; and adopted grandson Nathan Biggs.
Contributions may be made to the JCC Ranch Camp Scholarship Fund of the JCC Denver.
Dr. Kurt Metzl
Holocaust survivor and noted pediatrician Dr. Kurt Metzl died on April 17, 2025, at the age of 89. A service was held at Minturn Cemetery, officiated by Rabbi Sarah Shulman and Eitan Kantor. Feldman Mortuary handled the arrangements.
Born in 1935 in Austria, Dr. Metzl and his family escaped in 1938 to Switzerland, where they became displaced persons. They emigrated to the US in 1948; when they landed in New York they spoke no English and were met by HIAS, which sent them to Kansas City.
Dr. Metzl attended Washington University and the University of Kansas Medical School. He began his residency at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, where he met Marilyn Sue Newman, a speech pathologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital. The pair wed after a “whirlwind courtship.”
After completing service in the US Air Force, the couple moved to Kansas City, where Dr. Metzl joined a pediatric practice of his own former pediatrician, Julius Kantor. Dr. Metzl became a leader in the American Academy of Pediatrics.
In 2020, Kurt and Marilyn Metzl moved to Denver to be closer to family.
In his 2023 autobiography, Dr. Metzl said: “I celebrate the human ability to create a sense of unity and completion, remembrance and healing without erasure in defiance of efforts to kill our bodies, spirits and memories.”
Survivors are Dr. Metzl’s wife Marilyn; children Joshua (Ali) Metzl, Jordan, Jamie and Jonathan Metzl; and grandchildren Anna and Clara Metzl.
Contributions may be made to the HIAS Economic Advancement Fund.
Roberta Goldberg
Former chair of the Allied Jewish Federation Roberta “Bobbie” Goldberg died on May 27, 2025. A service was held on May 29 at Rose Hill Cemetery, officiated by Rabbi Katie Mizrahi. Feldman Mortuary handled the arrangements.
Mrs. Goldberg was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1934. She lived in Puerto Rico, Florida and Denver. She married Norman Goldberg in 1965; Mr. Goldberg passed away in 2015.
In the early 1970s, Mrs. Goldberg was chair of the federation, and had a reputation as a successful fundraiser.
“She was a savvy businesswoman, always working if she could and yet always finding time for daily dinners with her family,” her family said.
“She chaired Denver’s Jewish Federation at a time when few women had such a position.”
Survivors are children Bill (Karen Silverman) Goldberg and Jon (Heidi Krenn) Goldberg; step-children Susie (Rich) Saul and Sherry (John) Hauper; and grandchildren Eliana, Margalit, Andy, Stephanie, Hannah, Sarah and David.
Contributions may be made to JFS or Paideia-The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.
Dorothy Schoen
Longtime Denver resident and teacher Dorothy Schoen passed away on April 17, 2025, at the age of 97. A service was held on April 21 at Mount Nebo Cemetery, officiated by Rabbi Steven Foster. Feldman Mortuary made the arrangements.
Mrs. Schoen was born in Milwaukee, Wisc., on May 24, 1927 to Melik and Bertha Tomkin Pasternak. She graduated from Milwaukee State Teachers College in 1949, and that same year married Alan Schoen. Mr. Schoen died in 2004 after 55 years of marriage.
In 1953, Mr. and Mrs. Schoen moved to Denver, where Mrs. Schoen became a teacher for Denver Public Schools. She focused on early childhood education, and taught in underserved neighborhoods.
“Dorothy did not just teach lessons, she taught love, patience, dignity and possibility,” her family said. “She believed in every child who crossed her classroom threshold, and she gave of herself without reservation.
Mrs. Schoen also taught religious school for many years at Temple Emanuel. After retirement she became a volunteer at Rose Hospital.
“She was a woman who lived in motion, mind and spirit,” her family said. “She loved playing games of all kinds, always finding joy in the company they brought.
Survivors are children Gary (Candice Kiesow) Schoen and Marla (Jonathan Couch) Schoen; granddaughter Meghan (AJ) Nally and great-granddaughter Emma Nally. Mrs. Schoen was preceded in death by daughter Randi Schoen, who passed away in 2014.
© IJN 2025
