Madeleine G. Fishkin

On Saturday, January 12, two days after her 88th birthday, Madeleine G. Fishkin, of Arlington Virginia died peacefully in her apartment, surrounded by her family. Greatly beloved by all, she left her 3 children, Lee John Fishkin (Karen) of Charlotte, N.C.; Joelle Fishkin (Stephen Turchen); Daniel Fishkin (Olympia Derosa) and 3 grandchildren, Emily Fishkin, Alissa Turchen and Alex Fishkin. Sons Terry D. Fishkin died in 1972 and Michael P. Fishkin died in 2011. Her husband of 54 years, Colonel Leon J. Fishkin, died in 2000. Born in Hasparren, France (Pays Basque), Madeleine also left extensive family members in France and Switzerland, who have maintained contact with her since she moved to the United States in 1946 as a World War II war bride. Madeleine made a great career of her extensive language skills, spending many years as a translator/interpreter. Her professional languages were French, Spanish and English, but she also studied and spoke Greek, Latin, German and some Russian. Madeleine ended her career as the department head of the French Translation Services at Intelsat, which gave her the opportunity to travel the world even more extensively than she had already done as a military wife. Madeleine was an incredibly loving woman to all who knew her; she was also an intellectual, a humorist, a great conversationalist, a lover of music and the arts, a connoisseur of wine, and a woman of great courage. She was an inspiration to us all. The family invites you to remember her on Monday, January 21 at Murphy Funeral Home on Wilson Blvd, Arlington. Visitation 10:30-11:30, service 11:30-12:30 followed by a reception. Burial at Arlington Cemetery will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Operation Smile or to SOME in Washington DC.