Veteran of 40 years involvement with the right-to-die movement, in the USA and worldwide, Sidney D. Rosoff died on 4 January 2019 at his home in New York after a long illness. He was 94.

He was president of the Hemlock Society USA 1992-1995, previously chairman of the Society for the Right to Die, and founding president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies in l980.

Born in New York City on 13 December l924, Sidney served in US Army Air Corps 1943-1946. He graduated from New York University 1949 and from Harvard Law School 1952.

As partner with several NYC law firms, Sidney specialized in estate planning, trusts and estate administration, charitable organizations and foundations.

His other deep interest, along with his wife Joanna, was the American Craft Council, on the board of which he served 1983-1993.

Derek Humphry writes: “Sidney was always the peacemaker in a movement known for its controversial positions and highly opinionated colleagues. His low-key manner and lawyer skills settled many an argument.

“In the l970s when the issue of choice in dying well surfaced in a big way, and a handful of involved groups around the world were emerging in disjointed fashion, Sidney and myself put together the framework of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies and got it launched at a disputatious conference in Oxford in l980. Sidney wrote the by-laws and set up the foundation.

“Then the Federation had 27 groups from 18 nations; today it embraces 51 groups from 26 countries. Despite his physical limitations from a stroke, Sidney took part in the Federation’s 2014
conference in Chicago hosted by the Final Exit Network.”

Tags: aid in dying, Assisted Suicide, choice in dying, Final Exit, hemlock society