Stephen Ezer

A much-loved husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, uncle and friend to so many, Stephen Martin Ezer passed away on March 30, 2025. He was 81. Steve was known for his kindness, his welcoming nature, his keen intelligence, his wide breadth of knowledge, his mischievous sense of humor, his ceaseless curiosity, his service to his community, his deeply-held Jewish faith and, most of all, his boundless love for his family and friends.

Steve was born on January 28, 1944 in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of three children. He grew up in Dorchester, and attended Boston Latin, a prestigious public high school renowned for its rigorous academic admission standards. In 1965, Steve earned his Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, then two years later, went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Science Education from New York University.

After graduating from NYU, Steve returned home to Boston to work for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a Fisheries Economist. It was not long before serendipity brought him the great love of his life: thanks to cheering on his beloved Red Sox at Fenway Park on Mother’s Day Weekend, 1967, he met the beautiful, brilliant, sweet Rosanne, whom he wed the following year. They continued to delight in each other’s company for a wonderfully happy marriage that lasted the next nearly-fifty-seven years.

During his and Rosanne’s first years of marriage, Steve served in the U.S. Army, reaching the Rank of E5 (Specialist) while stationed in Germany. Following his honorable discharge, they returned to the U.S., first to Michigan then moving to Connecticut as Steve pursued a career in Sales, rising through the management ranks at Arden Companies, a textile manufacturer, during the next thirty-plus years.

It was during that time that Steve became a father as he and Rosanne welcomed two daughters, Melissa and Debbie. They raised them in the picturesque New England town of Cheshire, Connecticut. In addition to being a wonderfully supportive and loving father, Steve gave back to his community, serving on the town’s Environmental Commission, as a Justice of the Peace and as a volunteer Sports Officiant, while also Chairing the Building Committee responsible for the successful renovation of his synagogue, Temple Beth David.

In the early aughts, Steve and Rosanne jumped from the East Coast to the West Coast for Steve’s next chapter (and to accommodate their mutual enjoyment of golf and sun). They made a new home in Rancho Mirage, California while Steve took on the role of Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Premier Residential Services in Palm Desert until his retirement in 2021.

Steve was not one to stay idle, and so retirement only provided him with more time to contribute to his community, which he did as a Member, then Chair, of the Rancho Mirage Library Commission as well as a very active volunteer with COPS (Citizens on Patrol Services) in Rancho Mirage.

Steve’s career and family and community life were distinguished by the innumerable friends he made along the way. He always had time for a smile, a kind word, a piece of advice, or a wisecracking joke and it is fair to say that all who knew him had great affection for him. He will be dearly missed.

Steve is survived by his wife, Rosanne, his daughters Melissa Martin (Paul Martin) and Debbie Ezer (Neil Gaughan), his grandsons Bradley Martin and Derek Martin, his nieces and nephews, Janis Mendelson, Eileen and Richard Braun, Marjorie and Harry Millyard, Scott and Anne Ezer, Jonathan and Nicole Ezer, and Andrew Ezer and Susan Rimerman, as well as many beloved grandnieces and grandnephews, and great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.

Those wishing to honor Steve may make a donation in his memory to the Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory (https://www.ranchomiragelibrary.org/; 71-100 CA-111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270; (760) 341-7323) or Temple Sinai (https://www.templesinaipd.org/; 73251 Hovley Lane W, Palm Desert, CA 92260; (760) 568-9699).