Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich

Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich was born on March 31, 1933 in Chicago, the daughter of a well-known Yiddish poet and a Jewish educator. Fradle was an internationally renowned professional specializing in Jewish education. She worked in all areas of education, formal and informal, serving as a teacher, principal, curriculum writer, camp director, researcher, consultant, and university lecturer in Chicago, Montreal, New York, and Israel. Prior to her Aliyah in 1989, she was the Associate Director of JESNA (Jewish Education Service of North America) where she held various positions during her 19-year tenure. These positions included Director of Methods and Materials, Lay Leadership Consultant, Director of Action Research, and initiator and editor of the 18 issues of JESNA's "Annual Roundup of New Programs." In Israel, Freidenreich worked in higher education, at various teacher training colleges and at Tel Aviv University, and was the Academic Consultant and Director of International Relations at MOFET, Israel's consortium of institutions conducting teacher-training programs.

Fradle was a graduate of Concordia University (Montreal, QC) and National Louis University (Chicago, IL). She also attended graduate programs at Columbia and NYU in New York. She received the degree of Doctor of Pedagogy honoris causa, awarded by The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Additional honors include Fellow of the American Jewish Archives, Fellow in Religious Education awarded by the National Association of Temple Educators and UAHC, and Moment Magazine's first Community Service Award. Fradle had served on the boards of many professional organizations, including the Association of Jewish Communal Service, Educators Assembly, Council of Jewish Education, and the Labor Zionist Alliance, and also on several committees of the Ministry of Education in Israel.

In 2010 Fradle authored the book Passionate Pioneers, The Story of Yiddish Secular Education in North American, 1910-1960 (Holmes and Meier Publishers, Inc). Her extensive research into this book is publicly available in the Fradle Pomerantz Freidenreich Collection housed at the American Jewish Archives.

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Barry Freidenreich; three children, David Freidenreich, Daniel (Andrea Eisen) Pomp, and Keren Pomp Fortier; three grandchildren, Rachel Freidenreich, Amos Pomp, and Talia Pomp; and sister Chaikey Greenberg.

Fradle is preceded in death by her parents, Israel Chaim Pomerantz and Bessie Hershfield-Pomerantz; her late-in-life adoptive mother Zelda Weiner; and her daughter in-law, Gale Freidenreich.

A graveside service for Fradle will be held Friday, April 1, 2022 at 10:00 AM at Temple Beth Sholom Cemetery, 801 Circus Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34232.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to American Friends of Jordan River Village: https://www.afjrv.org/

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmsmemorial.com for the Freidenreich family.