Virginia Beach—Greta Friedhoff died May 5, 2013, at 92 in Virginia Beach, where she had moved to be near family: daughter Lynn Feigenbaum; granddaughter Nancy, husband Bob Evans and daughters Julia and Elena, in Williamsburg; and grandson John, wife Rachael and children Ben, Abby and Aiden in Virginia Beach.
“Oma,” as they called her, was born in Mannheim, Germany. Her carefree childhood ended with the rise of Hitler, and at 15 she took refuge at her sister Lili’s home in England. From there she moved to the United States, where she met her beloved “Schwupsie,” Paul, a fellow German refugee. Their 60 years together took the family to New Jersey and ultimately Puerto Rico. A doting mother and grandmother, Greta also served as a hospital volunteer, recorded books for the blind, and was active with Hadassah and San Juan’s pioneer synagogue. She and Paul kept strong ties to family from California to Switzerland—the Fromsons, Gladstones and Bridels among many others.
Wherever they went, Paul and Greta made lifelong friends, retiring in Clearwater, Fla. But in 1997, they said good-bye to this community to be near Lynn and her husband David on his diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). They settled in Williamsburg, where Paul died in 2001. Greta’s final years were spent at The Memory Center.
Condolences can be made at www.altmeyer.com.