Submitted by: Dan Rich
Florence F. Fischgrund
South Bend Tribune 9/20/2006
Florence "Florie" (Freeman) Fischgrund, 89, of South Bend, IN, passed away following a lengthy illness on Sunday, September 17, 2006, in her residence. Mrs. Fischgrund was born in South Bend on December 12, 1916, to Victor and Anna (Glicksman) Freeman, and had lived in South Bend all her life.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, she married Robert J. Fischgrund in South Bend on February 22, 1939. Mr. Fischgrund died in 1984. Mrs. Fischgrund is survived by a son, David (Lynne) Fischgrund of South Bend; three daughters, Wendy Morton of Sooke, British Columbia, Cathy (Bruce) Feldman of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Denise (Martin) Diamond of Kula, Hawaii; and by three grandchildren, Anne and Beth Fischgrund, and Lily Diamond.
Mrs. Fischgrund worked with her husband expanding and growing The Frances Shop, a prominent women's clothing store in South Bend for decades. She was the first woman president of Temple Beth-El congregation and served on the board of the temple for many years. She was actively involved in the community, serving in various capacities at the Scholarship Foundation of St. Joseph County, the South Bend Art Council, Michiana Arts & Sciences Council, the Snite Museum at the University of Notre Dame, the St. Joseph County Park Foundation, and the Firefly Festival which her husband helped create, as well as other non-profit organizations.
The family would also like to thank the caregivers from Home Instead Senior Care: Melody, Michelle, Vickie, Teresa, Karen and Terri, as well as Jill and Lilia. They all made her final months much more comfortable. Memorial services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, October 1, 2006, in Temple Beth-El, with Rabbi Eric Siroka officiating. A reception will follow. There will be no visitation. Contributions in the memory of Florence F. Fischgrund may be made to the Temple Beth-El Sisterhood, 305 W. Madison St., South Bend, IN 46601; or to the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN 46637.