Joanne Friedland

Joanne was born on February 22, 1952 in Cape Town, South Africa to David and Esther (Elkon) Leiserowitz. After high school, she left for Israel where she spent six months on a kibbutz. She then hitchhiked alone through Europe and au paired in Sweden. In London, she worked various restaurant jobs and fell in love with the city’s west end theater scene, which inspired her to enroll in the prestigious Drama Studio London.

Degree in hand she returned to Cape Town where she received recognition for her roles in a number of stage productions and television shows. During this time, she also worked as a model and was featured in major magazines and newspapers. Her print work eventually led her into a successful 35-year career in advertising sales and marketing.

On September 22, 1982 she married the love of her life, Max David Friedland. Together they raised a son, Adam, and a daughter, Zoë.

Joanne had a lifelong passion for health and fitness, especially long-distance running. She participated in numerous running events and was especially proud of completing the Las Vegas Marathon on a number of occasions.

She was a devoted member of the Las Vegas Jewish community and worked for 15 years at the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas as the director of advertising and marketing for the Jewish Reporter. She also served on the board of the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada. In 2010, she co-founded DAVID Magazine, an award-winning Las Vegas city lifestyle magazine.

Joanne was preceded in death by her father, David, and her mother, Esther. She is survived by her husband, Max, her children, Adam and Zoë, her brothers, Marc (wife Claire and children David, Joshua and Sarah) and Steven (wife Phyllis and son David). Funeral service were held on June 2, 2020 at Palm Northwest Mortuary and Cemetery. Services were live- streamed on Palm Northwest’s Facebook page. For times and location of Shiva, please text 310.866.6004.