ROSENBERG, Richard S. - (August 12, 1939 - March 19, 2019) -
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Prof. Richard S. Rosenberg in Vancouver, BC, in his 80th year.
Mourning his passing are wife Sheryl; children Aryeh (Christine), Rebecca (Bryan) and Hannah; sister Harriet (Richard); niece and nephews David (Whitney), Miriam (Vince) and Lucah.
As well as cousins Florence (Dave) and Howard (Orly) Perlman and Marlene Putterman; and the Litvack, Nussbaum and Shiffman families in Canada, the U.S. and Israel.
Born in Toronto, ON, to Leibel and Malka Rosenberg, he attended Harbord Collegiate, the University of Toronto and the University of Michigan before joining the nascent Computer Science Department at the University of British Columbia* in 1968. He played a pivotal role in its founding and taught there for 40 years.
Richard was a tireless advocate for social justice, ethics, freedom of speech and safeguarding privacy of information. He was a founding member of Electronic Frontier Canada* and was honoured with the BC Civil Liberties Association* Lifetime Achievement Award and the IBM Pioneers of Canadian Computing Award.
He created a foundational course in computing ethics at UBC* and developed national and international privacy and ethics policies.
Richard was frequently called on by local and national news programs, to explain new developments in computing technology and the internet and their impact on society.
Deeply committed to his community and cultural traditions, he was a longtime president of The Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture* and a stalwart member of the Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir.*
Richard will be remembered for his love of cooking and music as well as his lively presence, sense of humour and penchant for debating. He will be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to his memory at any of the organizations as noted above.
A Memorial Service is planned for mid-May at the Vancouver Peretz Centre, details to come. To receive notifications or offer condolences, please email
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