Louise Gartner

Louise (Tootsie) Frankfurt Gartner, a lifelong Dallas resident, was an exceptional visionary, tremendously forward thinking and incredibly ahead of her time. Her principles focused on healthy living and giving back and were reflected in everything she did throughout her 96 years of living. Following her graduation from the University of Illinois in the 1940s, Louise and her sisters established Page Boy Maternity, the first female owned garment manufacturing company, where she was the creative designer and inspiration for the leading maternity wear company in the US. Page Boy Maternity and Louise's designs were featured in Time and Good Housekeeping magazine during her first two pregnancies. Page Boy Maternity also produced the first ever maternity style show at the Stork Club in New York. While visiting a spa in Mexico in the mid-1960's, Louise was introduced to yoga, which sparked her lifelong interest in unconventional, yet age-old, approaches to better health. Her belief in the connection of body, mind and soul prompted her to offer yoga breaks in the Page Boy Maternity factory. Combining her zest for life, love of fashion and giving nature, Louise founded the dance troupe "Always on Sunday Line Dancers." She designed costumes and produced shows, which the troupe performed for local senior citizen gatherings, nursing homes, and retirement centers. In 1994, Louise established the Charitable Produce Center of Dallas at the North Texas Food Bank by inviting local grocers and wholesalers to donate their blemished and unsalable, but still very healthy, produce. It was then distributed to the less fortunate. Until then, the North Texas Food Bank handled primarily canned goods and other staples. The food bank was initially unsure it could handle the program so Louise funded the Charitable Produce Center for its first six months. They have since distributed 170 million pounds of produce. She was also the facilitator in persuading Hutchins State Jail to raise fresh produce for the food bank. Years ahead of her time, Louise laid the ground work for what is now the North Texas Food Bank's focus of distributing nutritious meals to families in need. Louise always had a deep interest in holistic medicine and was constantly looking for new and innovative ways to improve health and well-being. As the Founder and President of the Alternative Medicine Research Foundation of Texas, in 1997 Louise established a twofold purpose of funding studies that evaluate nontraditional therapies for prevention and treatment of common illnesses and to educate physicians and the public about the growing, integrative and holistic area of health care. Louise created Common Cents Dallas in 1998, which teaches philanthropy to students of all grade levels in the Dallas Independent School District. The program empowers students to take the initiative of collecting donations and then deciding which charities will receive the money. Since its inception, the program has awarded over $800,000 to non-profits chosen by the students. Louise believed the foundation of philanthropy and kindness for others could change a person for life, as well as a whole community. Her philanthropic and civic contributions include the establishment of the Louise Gartner Hyperbaric Oxygen Center at Baylor Hospital in 2002 after witnessing the healing effects oxygen therapy had on burn, stroke patients and crush injuries. Since its inceptions, the Center has treated over 20,000 patients with a wide variety of medical issues. Louise made major contributions to the Natural Research Medicine Unit at Hadassah University Hospital. She served on the Endowment Foundation Board of Golden Acres and on the Foundation Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas. She also served on the Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, the Board of North Texas Food Bank and the Board of Thanks-Giving Square. She received national recognition in Who's Who in the South and Southwest and Who's Who of American Women during her lifetime. Louise's legendary efforts and activities have greatly impacted the Dallas community. She was honored by the Dallas Chapter of Hadassah, awarded the Civic Service Award of Akiba Academy, presented the Association of Fundraising Professionals Outstanding Philanthropist award and bestowed the Annual Spirit of Thanks-Giving award. Louise was preceded in death by her parents, Jennie (Bergman) and Benjamin Frankfurt, her loving husband of 35 years, Charles "Chick" Gartner, and her siblings Elsie Frankfurt Pollock, Edna Frankfurt Rafkind and Victor William Frankfurt. She is survived by Brenda Gartner Berg and husband, Lee Michael Berg, Robert Gartner and his fiancée, Cheryl Rey, Gigi Gartner and her fiancé, Alex Hamerman, her grandsons, Ryan Berg and wife, Jessica, Scott Berg and wife, Leslie, and Chad Berg and wife, Vanessa, her great grandchildren, Zach, Emily, Adam, Jacob, Lee and Michael Berg. The family wishes to thank Luisa Dean and other faithful caregivers for their gentle care of their mother and warm compassion shown to the family during Louise's later years. Funeral service will be held at 3:00 PM on Monday, January 16, 2017 in the Stern Chapel at Temple Emanu-El, 8500 Hillcrest Ave., Dallas, TX 75225. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to Temple Emanu-El, the Common Cents fund at the Communities Foundation of Texas and the North Texas Food Bank.