Harold Rosenbluth, chairman of Rosenbluth Vacations and the third-generation leader of his family's travel agencies, died of cancer at his home in Pennsylvania Feb. 3, according to a statement from Rosenbluth Vacations. He was 91.
Rosenbluth, an Army veteran and University of Pennsylvania graduate, was a corporate lawyer for several years before he joined the family business. Rosenbluth had been founded in 1892 by his grandfather to help Eastern European immigrants purchase steamship tickets to the U.S.
His son, Lee Rosenbluth, the president and CEO of Rosenbluth Vacations, said in the statement that his father was "the one who bridged the second to the third to the fourth generations" running the family business and "the sole reason that we as a company were in the fourth generation."
Another son, Hal Rosenbluth, was CEO of Rosenbluth International, the Philadelphia-based corporate travel agency, which was sold to American Express in 2003. Rosenbluth Vacations was not part of the sale and continued to operate; the company said that Harold Rosenbluth had continued to come to the office until he was 90.
Lee Rosenbluth said his father loved the travel industry and "had an insatiable curiosity to meet people and to understand their various cultures and way of life."
Harold Rosenbluth was a member on the boards of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at St. Joseph's University, Gratz College, the American Jewish Historical Society, and the University of Pennsylvania Board of Overseers. He was also a past president of Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife, Frances; a daughter, Amy; and seven grandchildren.