Ilona M Friedman

Ilona Friedman (nee Gottfried) died peacefully Sunday, December 22nd 2024 at home, surrounded by her family. Daughter of Isabella and Ferenç, and younger sister to Judy (John Spitzer), she was born January 31st, 1935 in Budapest, Hungary, where she survived the Holocaust, and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1949. She graduated from Overbrook High School, attended Temple University on a full merit scholarship, and married the love of her life, Herman Friedman, Ph.D. who predeceased her. She worked alongside him in the Department of Medical Microbiology at USF Medical School as an executive secretary, helping to edit his many scientific publications. She raised four children, Frank (Sarah Kianovsky), Michelle (Michael Slifker), Suzy (Darryl Shaw), and Andie (Mario Rodriguez). In 1979, she moved to Tampa FL, where she lived for the rest of her life, and was a long-standing member of Congregation Kol Ami. She was devoted to her family, “Gram” to eight—Yonit, Avi (Jen Kim), Samuel, Ellie, Davida, Carly, Batia, and Eren—the aunt of Peter (Wendy) Spitzer, Juliet Spitzer (Phil Wachs), and the great- and great, great-aunt of 16, as well as the “bonus grandmother” to everyone in her extended family, in-laws, and to the young students in the schools where she volunteered. She loved life, read extensively, was always up for an adventure, traveled widely, and supported many causes. Donations in Ilona's memory can be made to any charity you prefer, or to the Joint Distribution Committee, HIAS, or other organizations that help immigrants like herself.