Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 85, co-founder of Rosenfeld Realty, a shopping center development firm in the Washington
region, died April 1 at his home in Chevy Chase of pneumonia.
In 1946, along with his father, Harry, Mr. Rosenfeld started to develop grocery-anchored, neighborhood shopping
centers in Maryland and Virginia, including centers in Frederick, Rockville, Potomac and College Park.
Samuel Jay Rosenfeld was born in Philadelphia and moved to Washington as a boy. He graduated from Roosevelt
High School and received a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering from Catholic University in 1944.
During the early 1940s, he served in the Army Air Corps Reserve as a structural research engineer developing airplane
bomb-bay doors for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, a predecessor to NASA. Later, he taught
engineering and mathematics at Catholic University before founding the realty company.
He helped found the International Council of Shopping Centers, where he served as a trustee. He also was a trustee of
Denver-based National Jewish Health, which conducts research and treatment for allergies and lung, immunologic and
infectious diseases, as well as of Hood College in Frederick.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Eleanor Talpalar Rosenfeld of Chevy Chase; three children, Frances Rumford
and Robert Rosenfeld, both of Washington, and Gail Steckler of Chevy Chase; a sister; and 10 grandchildren.
-- Lauren Wiseman