Mel and Elaine (Tanner) Rozen Mel and Elaine (Tanner) Rozen of Erie, Pennsylvania, ages 64, passed peacefully on May 23, 2007 and May 24, 2007, respectively.

Elaine and Mel were raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, where they met and fell in love. She was the daughter of Russian-Polish immigrant-parents, Bea and Louie Tanner, who started the Louis Tanner Company. Mel was the son of local business people Mortimer and Sadie Rozen. Elaine and Mel settled in Reynoldsburg, Ohio where they raised their two children, Seth and Daphne.

They were devoted, loving parents and grandparents to two Shelties, a guinea pig, and a rabbit.

They are survived by their children Seth Rozen and his fiancée Marina Miller; Daphne and René De La Cruz; sister Diane Zucker; brother Paul Rozen; and numerous relatives and loved ones.

Elaine was a graduate from Academy High School and Villa Maria College. She was a leader of Jewish youth groups and studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. Elaine also was a high school teacher and reading supervisor. She later earned a second Bachelor’s degree in teaching ESL from Ohio Dominican University where she worked in the Office of International Students. Elaine was deeply involved in the community. For more than 30 years, the two resided in Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

Mel, a graduate of Erie Tech High School, went on to receive degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Art and a Masters Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Mel had recently retired from ODU where he taught for 34 years, as Professor of Art and Visual Communication. Mel was also an accomplished artist who exhibited in Pa., N.Y., and Ohio. His works also are in public/private collections. They were inspired by life and the trips they took throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Services for Mel and Elaine will be held on Sunday, May 27th, at 1 p.m. at Burton Funeral Home, 602 W. 10th Street, Erie, Pennsylvania (814.454.4551). The family requests no flowers, but invites donations to the Elaine and Mel Rozen Scholarship Fund in care of the University Advancement Office, Ohio Dominican University, 1216 Sunbury Road, Columbus, Ohio 43219. Published in the Erie Times-News on 5/26/2007.