Deceased June 10, 2022
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In Memory
Doug Rossi passed away in Santa Barbara, Calif., on June 10, 2022, after a six-month battle with a rare and aggressive cancer.
One of the Californians in our class, Doug was proud of his Santa Monica upbringing (he attended Santa Monica High School) and eager to experience New England. After spending freshman year in Pratt, he joined DU, eventually becoming its president and treasurer. His time at Amherst was characterized by a quiet reserve, loyal friendships and an understated academic brilliance, as well as fierce rebounding and defense on the court as a member of the varsity basketball team. To me and many others, Doug always seemed like something of an older brother: more mature, disciplined and wise.
After graduating magna cum laude in economics, Doug attended law school at USC. He spent 42 years at Price, Postel & Parma in Santa Barbara. At the time of his death, Doug was the firm’s senior partner, chair of the estate planning department, and mentor to several generations of attorneys and paralegals.
Doug and I had an unusual bond. We were basketball teammates, fellow economics majors and freshman dorm advisers together in Morrow senior year. Indeed, people on campus would sometimes mistake one of us for the other. So, when I also ended up in Santa Barbara, I wasn’t surprised when someone would occasionally ask, “Are you Doug Rossi’s brother?” We kept up over the years—most recently meeting for lunch, for what turned out to be the last time, just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Doug is survived by his wife, Kim Haggin Rossi, and their children, Claire and Kate; and by his first wife, Suzanne (Sanders) Rossi, their children, Lauren and Christopher, and three grandchildren. His teammates and DU brothers bid farewell to one of our steady stalwarts.
Frank Griffin ’76