Franci Rudolph

Franci Golman Rudolph

Franci Golman Rudolph, daughter of the late Al and Diane Golman, passed away peacefully at home with her family on Saturday morning at age 60. She is survived by her beloved family, including her husband Richard, her children Benjamin and Lesley, her sister Gail Golman Holtzman and her husband Steve, her brother Jeffrey Golman and his wife Cidney, aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. Franci also leaves behind many loyal friends whom she adored and cherished.

Franci was born in Chicago, where she grew up on the South Side. She attended high school at Niles West and college at Syracuse University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Psychology. She began her career as a Special Education teacher working with mentally disabled and neurologically-challenged children. In 1996, she became the Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Business Committee for the Arts. She then went on to work as a National Workshop Coordinator and Consultant for the NYC Business Committee for the Arts. Franci also served as an Arbitrator for FINRA.

Franci dedicated her life to the Tampa community and philanthropic causes. In 2008 she received the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Human Relations Award. In recognition of this Award, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio declared September 25, 2008 "Franci Golman Rudolph Day" in honor of her commitment and dedication to the City of Tampa.

Franci's other awards included the Bank of America "Local Hero" award; Cultural Contributor of the Year from the Tampa Chamber of Commerce; Woman of Distinction Award from Tampa Jewish Federation Women's Philanthropy; Tampa Bay Business in the Arts Award; WRJ (Women of Reform Judaism) Distinguished Service Award; JNF "Tree of Life" Award; and the Salvation Army "People of Dedication" Award. In addition to these honors, Franci participated on numerous boards and committees, including the Foundation of St. Joseph's Hospitals, Berkeley Preparatory School where she served as Chairperson, The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Tampa Museum of Art, The Florida Holocaust Museum, The Florida Bar Grievance Committee, The Florida Orchestra, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Arts Council of Hillsborough County, Congregation Schaarai Zedek, Tampa Jewish Federation, and Junior League of Tampa.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to one of the following organizations: The St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation of Tampa Bay, The David A. Straz, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Florida Holocaust Museum, Congregation Schaarai Zedek and the Tampa Museum of Art.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Congregation Schaarai Zedek at 3303 W. Swann Avenue.