Jonas Rosenthal Obituary: Jonas Howard Rosenthal, 72 of Wells, died unexpectedly on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at his residence. He was born on February 14, 1950, in Baltimore, MD the son of Alfred and Leah (Epstein) Rosenthal. He graduated from the Pikesville High School in Baltimore, MD in 1968, the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Business & Public Administration in 1972, Penn State University with a Master’s Degree in Recreation & Parks in 1974, and Montana State University with a Master’s Degree in Public Admin in 1985. Jonas loved ice hockey playing on his college teams and club teams in Montana.
Mr. Rosenthal married Jima VanGuilder on July 17, 1987. Jonas served as the Administrative Assistant to Montana Governor Ted Schwinden from 1982 until relocating to Vermont in October of 1985 where he became the Poultney Town Manager. In 1986 he also became Poultney Village Manager serving in both positions until retiring in September 2016. He also served the town and village of Poultney as zoning administrator, dog wrangler, recreation director, traffic director, health officer, and litter control officer. During his retirement, he served the Town of Fair Haven as their Interim Town Manager and was currently serving the towns of Castleton and Pawlet as their Zoning Administrator. He just concluded a 3-year term serving the State of Vermont on the Vermont Community Development Board.
Mr. Rosenthal was the President of the Board of Directors for the Young at Heart Senior Center. He was a past member of the Poultney Rotary Club, Poultney July 4th Committee, Poultney Downtown Revitalization Committee, and Poultney Recreation Commission. Jonas was an accomplished grant writer securing funding for many community projects. He was instrumental in saving and restoring the Stonebridge Inn in 2005. The Poultney Public Library has dedicated The Rosenthal Room in his honor. He was selected as the Poultney Area Chamber of Commerce Honorary Citizen of the Year in 2016. In 2018 the Vermont State House honored him with a resolution.
He was also the recipient of the Frances B. Elwell Award for Municipal Management, the Preservation Trust of Vermont Award, and the Vermont Downtown Program Green Mountain Award. Survivors include his wife Jima VanGuilder of Wells, a daughter Katherine Leah Rosenthal of Brooklyn, a sister Jane Rapkin and sister-in-law Ilene Rosenthal both of Florida, and numerous nieces, and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Richard Rosenthal.
Private burial will be in the East Poultney Jewish Cemetery A celebration of his life will be held at the American Legion in Poultney on Saturday, October 29 from 1 – 4 PM. Arrangements are with the Durfee Funeral Home, 119 North Main St, Fair Haven, VT. Memorial contributions may be made to the Poultney Recreation Department, C/O Town of Poultney, 9 Main St, Poultney VT 05764.
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