N. Hilton Rosen, a residential and commercial real estate developer in New York and East Hampton, died at his home overlooking the East River in Manhattan on Aug. 9. He was 92 and had Parkinson’s disease.
Mr. Rosen “led a life marked by academic excellence and professional success,” according to his obituary on Legacy.com. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1953, and went on to earn his M.B.A. from Dartmouth’s Amos Tuck Business School a year later. After serving in the Army, he continued his education, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1957.
His academic success “laid the groundwork for a fruitful career in real estate development spanning over five decades,” his online obituary said.
Born on Sept. 28, 1932, in Middletown, N.Y., to Philip Rosen and the former Beatrice Evans, he grew up in South Fallsburg, N.Y.
When he met Mildred Pafundi, she was an assistant attorney general for the State of New York. They were married on March 15, 1963, “and together they built a life with shared passions and community involvement,” their family wrote. They lived in Brooklyn Heights for many years and spent summers in East Hampton’s Georgica area from 1975 until 2021, first on Apaquogue Road and later Ruxton Road.
“Everybody in the Georgica area would know him and see him because he was either riding his bicycle or running every single day,” his daughter, Sharon Robin Rosen, said. “He would run around the area for hours. . . . That’s what he really enjoyed most.”
Mr. Rosen “dedicated decades to the growth and development of St. John’s University in New York City, where his wife received her bachelor’s and law degrees,” their daughter said. He served as a trustee of the university and remained a trustee emeritus until his death.
His wife died in 2019. Mr. Rosen is survived by their daughter, who lives in East Hampton and TriBeCa, and two grandchildren, Rose and Sabina DiPietro of New York City.
A private service was held on Aug. 11 at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
