Arthur Rocklin was in his 70s when he went on safari in Africa with his son, Craig. When the opportunity came to bungee jump over the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, Rocklin did not hesitate.

“He would try anything, really,” Craig Rocklin said.

That adventurous, outgoing nature stayed with Rocklin throughout his life. He was quick to strike up conversations, make new friends and bring people together.

Rocklin died on Aug. 2 at 90. He built a long career as a Baltimore lawyer while devoting decades to Oheb Shalom Congregation, where he served as a leader and teacher.

“He was very outgoing,” his son said. “He would talk to anybody and everybody.”

Rocklin grew up in Baltimore’s Ashburton neighborhood on Copley Road, son of Carlyn and J. Paul Rocklin. He attended Baltimore City College, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law.

Law was a family profession. His father founded Rocklin & Rocklin, where Arthur Rocklin practiced with his father and brother before taking over the practice in 1993.

“When his brother Norm turned 62, he walked over to my father’s office and plopped a stack of files on his desk and said, ‘I’m done, all yours,’” Craig Rocklin said.

Rocklin concentrated on trusts and estates and handled clients’ financial and legal affairs for decades.

Craig Rocklin said his father took pride in being a careful trustee, protecting clients’ money. Rocklin continued practicing into his 80s, reducing his workload. He joked that, as an estates and trusts lawyer, he had the “greatest clients because they were all dead.”

Outside his legal career, Oheb Shalom was a constant in Rocklin’s life.

The Rocklin family belonged to the congregation for five generations. Arthur Rocklin served as congregation president, spent years on its board and taught Sunday school for about two decades.

His ninth-grade classes emphasized Jewish culture and experience. He brought in a Holocaust survivor to speak with students and incorporated cooking projects in which students made bagels and stuffed cabbage.

Years later, former students still told him how much they remembered his class.

“I think it was the joy of sharing his love of Judaism,” Craig Rocklin said. “He just enjoyed working with the young people and being involved in something and sharing his knowledge.”

Rocklin identified strongly with Reform Judaism and his congregation’s history. He had been bar mitzvahed there and, after a change in the congregation’s confirmation schedule, was confirmed twice. He liked pointing himself out in two confirmation-class photographs.

As new rabbis came to the congregation, Rocklin often introduced them to Baltimore and Oheb Shalom’s history. He particularly liked taking them to the congregation’s former synagogue on Eutaw Place, the building he remembered from childhood.

One rabbi described him as a “rabbi collector,” his son recalled. Rocklin maintained relationships with rabbis and enjoyed having them over for dinner.

For Rocklin, Judaism was closely tied to family, community and tradition. He enjoyed hosting Jewish holidays and especially liked leading the family Passover Seder. He wanted everyone together, but expected everyone to pay attention.

Family history mattered deeply to him. During visits to the Oheb Shalom cemetery, he would point out relatives’ graves, explain how people were related and tell stories about them. Later, he shared that history with his great-grandchildren.

“He knew all the stories,” Craig Rocklin said.

Rocklin had wide-ranging interests. He was a longtime tennis player and played nearly every day for many years. He made pottery, grew orchids, knew horticulture and enjoyed cooking and baking. His spiral sticky buns, or schnecken (snails), became a favorite among family and friends.

Later in life, bridge became one of Rocklin’s strongest interests. He was a Life Master duplicate bridge player and played several times a week, including at the Edward A. Myerberg Center. Even after his short-term memory began declining, he retained his ability to play.

Travel remained important throughout his life. Craig Rocklin, who describes himself as introverted, recalled leaving his father alone briefly on trips and returning to find that Rocklin had met several couples and arranged for everyone to eat together.

“He was very welcoming,” he said. “There was no excuse not to be social, be friendly, be welcoming.”

That instinct to participate showed up in other parts of his life.

“Whenever someone asked for a volunteer, he would always raise his hand,” Craig Rocklin said.

Rocklin and his wife, Doris, were married for about 50 years before her death about a decade ago. They raised two children, Craig and Romy. Family gatherings remained important to Rocklin throughout his life.

He was especially close to his three granddaughters. After his death, one granddaughter assembled telephone messages he had left over the years. They were ordinary messages asking how she was doing or referring to something happening in her life, but Craig Rocklin said they captured his father’s warmth and interest in his family.

Rocklin had six great-grandchildren with another expected.

His family sometimes teased him about his tendency to repeat favorite stories. Craig and a family friend eventually began assigning numbers to them. When Rocklin started telling a familiar one, they could identify it by number.

But those stories were also part of the way he kept family and Baltimore Jewish history alive.

“He was a friend to many people,” Craig Rocklin said. “He was committed to his family, committed to his synagogue, committed to his community. He lived his life to the fullest and the way he wanted to live it.”

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance obituary writer. She welcomes suggestions for individuals who had meaningful ties to the Baltimore Jewish community. Email csix@midatlanticmedia.com.