by Sarah Paley Coon

Sharon, CT — Robert R. Rosenheim, 77, died peacefully at his home in Sharon, Conn., surrounded by his close friends and beloved pets on June 1, 2015 after a long illness.

He was born in New York City on Oct. 14, 1937, the only child of Harry and Ruth Rosenheim. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1954 and did a post-grad year at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Conn., where he graduated in 1955. He was on the varsity football team, varsity track team and the JV basketball team at Stuyvesant High School and Cheshire Academy.

His athletic abilities earned him a place on the Indiana University football team. Discouraged by a lack of playing time at Indiana, he transferred to Muhlenburg College in Allentown, Pa., where he played on the football team. He graduated from Muhlenburg in 1960. He pursued further education, eventually earning his PhD in Sociology from St. John’s University in New York while he was working and caring for his widowed mother.

Mr. Rosenheim began his career in advertising at Ted Bates & Company in New York as a television airtime buyer for Colgate. After learning the business, he decided to strike out on his own. One of his first endeavors was selling advertising for a football highlights show in the 1960s. He later began Robert Rosenheim Associates, a media brokerage. He moved his business to Stanfordville, N.Y., in the 1970s, still continuing to care for his mother. He moved to Sharon in 1987.

As a young man, Mr. Rosenheim went to the horse races with his father in New York. In 1994 he purchased his first Standardbred and his passion for racing was ignited. In 1996 his horse Armbro Prowess won the Dan Patch Award 2-year-old trotting filly of the year. He had many other successful race horses including I’ve Got The Life, Eracer Hanover, Surtees Hanover, Bacardi Lindy, and Pinetucky.

Mr. Rosenheim bought a farm in Stillwater, N.Y., and built an onsite training track. He visited the farm often and enjoyed watching his horses train and race.

He had a wide variety of interests including sports, music, artwork, books and movies. He loved going to the movies and was always current on the latest entertainment news.

As a young man, he worked as a counselor at a summer camp in Kent, Conn. It later became a resort, Club Getaway. Bob (or Rosie as he was known at Club Getaway) spent many weekends at the Club and made many friends over the years.

Although Mr. Rosenheim had no children, he had a close relationship with his employees and friends who will miss him more than words can say.

Services are private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Standardbred Retirement Foundation (www.adoptahorse.org), The Little Guild of St. Francis (www.littleguild.org), SVNA (www.svna.org), or The Sharon Volunteer Ambulance, P.O. Box 357, Sharon, CT 06069.