Hundreds Mourn Loss of a 'Teacher's Teacher'

He was a "teacher's teacher," exuded warmth and kindness, and was always good for an iPod charger, remembered loved ones of Jeff Rozran at his memorial service. Gutterman's Funeral Home overflowed with family, friends, colleagues, and students of the beloved teacher and Syosset Teachers' Association president, Jeff Rozran.

Voices of those who eulogized him cracked as they recalled the source of light and happiness .

"A teacher is not something you do, he told me. It is something you are," recalled Rozran's nephew, Craig Handler.

"He was a teacher's teacher," said principal John Durante, who remembered Rozran heroically saving a young girl's beach ball one summer.

"Kindness and intelligence with a commitment to fairness, said his secretary Shelly," said his sister Marcia Turbiner.

"[He felt] philosophical; it is what it is," remembered Turbiner of her brother's calmness regarding his sickness. "He was always there when I needed him, with great council and insight, and with concrete things, pictures, an iPod charger, family addresses."

Rozran's reach of influence surpassed the classroom. Colleagues, friends he met by chance, and even politicians remembered the man who combined integrity and kindness in every aspect of his existence.

"Sorry to hear of the passing of Jeff Rozran over the weekend. A Teacher & NYSUT rep who cared about the Children 1st. He will be missed," tweeted State Sen. Carl L. Marcellino, R-Syosset, on Monday.

"I had the pleasure of working directly with Jeff…His dedication to the district and the children of Syosset was extraordinary," remembered Roberta Dochter, council president of the Syosset Council of PTAs. "He has touched the lives of all with his unwavering passion for education."

Those who wished to donate to a worthy cause in his memory were encouraged to give to the Don Monti Pavilion and American Cancer Society/Relay for Life.