David Halberstam's recollections of Rose Nader

I thought she was a remarkable person who lived a remarkable life, going literally from one century to another.

She was strong, loving, hard-working and modest.  All of the virtues were hers.  I used to ponder how much she and her husband had seen in their lives for it was a great American story.  They had come here in the Twenties with little more than their hopes and their capacity for hard work, and in just one generation they had seen their own children prosper—enriching what was around them and being enriched at the same time.

What I will remember is her kindness to our family over the years, her sense of obligation to others, and a belief that citizenship demanded a daily commitment. 

And of course her modesty, in the mid-sixties, back when Life Magazine was still powerful, the editors put Ralph on the cover.  My mother, thrilled by this, immediately called Rose to tell her. 

“Yes,” said Mrs. Nader, “that’s nice.  I must get out and get a copy.”  We all loved that, the “a copy” reference.

-David Halberstam
January 23, 2006