I knew Don Rosenfield for almost 53 years from the time he joined the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity as a freshman at MIT in 1965. I was a sophomore. I have enjoyed reading the tributes to Don from students and colleagues on the website, and looking at the photos that have been posted. The stories speak to the generosity of his spirit and brilliance, and his broad smile (we referred to them as “SEG’s”) are a window to his joy. I challenge anyone, anywhere to find a photo of Don when he isn’t smiling!
Don possessed an “unusual” sense of humor. He would create quirky scenarios, and smile just as vigorously 50 years after the first telling, for what would might be the 500th time. One out of a dozen examples comes to mind. Don was convinced that the Red Sox had mislabeled Carl Yastrzemski’s uniform during his playing career. Yaz’s actual number, according to Don was 6.02 x 10^23. And of course, Avogadro’s number was “8”. When I visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in the mid 1970’s, I sadly reported back to him that they had still retired the wrong number for Yaz, Don laughed and took it in stride. Just this past summer, when I saw Don, I told him that I looked forward to taking my grandsons to the Hall of Fame in the next year or two. His comment: “Well, I certainly hope they’ve finally got the correct uniform for Yaz.”
Shortly after Don’s tragic death, I told Roy Shapiro, whom Don loved and revered, that Don was such a giving individual, that if you asked for the proverbial shirt off of his back, Don would refuse, making sure that the shirt he gave you was of the right size and to your liking. He led a full life, with humor, intellect and concern for everyone in his sphere- EACH AND EVERY DAY.. We all wish there were more days.