The Life of Edward F Rockman

A prominent Pittsburgh CPA, of Briar Cliff Road, died in his sleep May 15th. He was 79. A graduate of Sayre (PA) High School and Dickinson College, Ed received his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964 and went to work at Bachrach, Sanderbeck & Co. He became a CPA soon thereafter. Throughout his career, he provided guidance to a multitude of Pittsburgh small businesses and was a force in setting standards for the profession. Ed was a former shareholder and director of quality control with Alpern Rosenthal. A former member of the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board, he served on several task forces, including the Audit Issues Task Force. He also served on AICPA's Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) Executive Committee, and the PCPS Technical Issues Committee. Ed was a long time Board member, devoted supporter, and friend of the Pittsburgh arts organization, Contemporary Craft (CC). After working with the group as head of the nonprofit audit division at Alpern Rosenthal, he joined CC's Board in 2008 and served in many different roles including Board Chair, member of the Executive Committee and the Capitalization Committee, as well as Audit Committee Chair. Ed was a trusted advisor who helped the organization as it navigated its relocation from the Produce Terminal to Lawrenceville. He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills for nearly 50 years, twice serving as the President, among many other leadership roles. Ed loved good food - creating and consuming it - as well as good libations in the company of dear friends. He was an avid fan of crossword puzzles and enjoyed a good turn of phrase. Never a fan of formality in either business or personal relations, Ed especially despised neckties, and often decried them as a "decadent, bourgeois fetish." He is survived by his wife of nearly 38 years, Mary Ellen Johnson; daughter, Elena Rockman-Blake (Chris); son, Jon Rockman; grandson, Michael Blake; sister, Betty Rockman Gordon (Alan), and Sally the cat. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Contemporary Craft (https://contemporarycraft.org/) or the Unitarian Universalist Church of the North Hills (https://uucnh.org/)