Freddi Karin Margolin

A most amazing woman has left this planet. Freddi Margolin (nee Vinitsky), born in Brooklyn, New York on Feb. 5, 1935, passed away peacefully at home on August 27, 2021 after a long courageous fight against cancer. She was trained as a dental hygienist and therein began the first of her many careers and avocations. Her first position as a dental health teacher was in Islip, Long Island. It was there that she met her future husband

Bob who lived in a neighboring town, Bay Shore. They were married in 1958 and their two daughters, Lisa and Teri, were born in 1959 and 1960.

After her children began school she went back to work as a dental health teacher in the Huntington School system. She replaced one hygienist and eventually took on the loads of the remaining two after they left. She went beyond what was required and taught dental hygiene in every class grade K-12. She even volunteered to teach some classes in the local Catholic school even though that was not mandated by the state of New York. She also taught dental assisting in a technical school and taught dental hygienist students on a local campus of the State of New York University system. While Lisa and Teri were still in high school she furthered her education by earning a masters degree in heath education at Adelphi University on Long Island.

As a teaching tool Freddi brought a miniature ventriloquist stage to school and used Snoopy and Lucy puppets to hold the students’ attention (no wonder she was called the dentist lady by the kids). That led to her interest in collecting Peanuts and Snoopy memorabilia. That changed the lives of Freddi and her husband. She amassed so many collectibles through the years that she became at one time the biggest collector of Peanuts memorabilia in the United States. She wrote two iconic books on Peanuts collecting and among the collector community she was known throughout much of the world. Freddi and Bob traveled extensively; the purpose of many of their trips was to add to her Peanuts collection. They travelled to Southeast Asia, Viet Nam, and Cambodia plus many trips to Japan and Hong Kong, both important destinations for Peanuts collectors. Freddi added to her collection in many cities in Europe. She even found Peanuts items on the Rock of Gibraltar.

She built a beautiful museum in the basement of her home in Bay Shore, Long Island, large enough to host grade school classes. But that came to an end when she ran out of room and her collection spilled onto the floor of the museum. More importantly, she loaned parts of her collection to NASA and many prestigious museums throughout the country including the former Museum of Cartoon Arts in Boca Raton, the Children’s Museum in New York City and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Freddi also found time to acquire many other collections including the very popular Daulton Character Mugs. In her Florida home she filled one room with a treasure trove of 1950s memorabilia including a Wurlitzer juke box and couch made from the back end of a 1957 Chevy Belaire. Her favorite holiday was Halloween. Each fall Freddi collected so many spooky items that they filled all the shelves in the guest room of her home and she also placed some in most of the other rooms in the house.

Freddi and Bob moved to Florida on the infamous day of 9/11/2001, first to Jupiter and then in 2003 to Palm Beach Country Estates. They enjoyed many happy years volunteering with Dachshund Rescue of South Florida, attending shows at the Maltz Jupiter Theater, college level lectures at the Lifelong Learning Society on the Jupiter campus of Florida Atlantic University, playing with her many rescue dogs (of which she has never owned less than four) and of course enjoying dinners out with friends.

Freddi has accomplished so much despite the handicap of being almost totally deaf since childhood, despite suffering since 1989 the ravages of Lyme disease (as one of the first people in the United States to contract the dread disease it went misdiagnosed for two years which led to well over a dozen debilitating major surgeries), and despite enduring many bouts of depression throughout her life.

She leaves behind her husband Bob of sixty three years, loving daughters Lisa Sherrin Margolin of Champaign, Illinois, Teri Sue Hughes (Richie) of Jupiter Farms and granddaughter SkylarRose Margolin, a sophomore at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She also leaves behind her constant canine companions Zoey, Sam, Chelsea and Sunshine.

The family is also grateful to Trustbridge Hospice which stayed with Freddi day and night for weeks.

Funeral service will be held at Aycock-Riverside Funeral Home in Jupiter on Friday, September 3rd at 11am and a Celebration of Freddi’s life will be held at the funeral home on Sunday September 12th from 1-4pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the animal rescue organization of your choice.

The funeral services on Friday will be live streamed. Please see below.