Obituary: Carole Fishman

Carole Fishman passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2026.

She left a legacy to her children and grandchildren that one has a brain and a mouth, and you were expected to use them both.

Born in Brooklyn in 1936, she developed a lifelong affinity for baseball with her beloved Brooklyn Dodgers, until they betrayed her when they moved to LA.

She married Arnie Fishman in 1958 and moved out to the “country,” aka Long Island. Carole was a true barrier breaker, doing things women simply didn’t do in the 1970s and 1980s. Running for public office and starting a business were not typical for a woman in those days, but as always, she blazed her own trail. She also cursed like a drunken sailor so there was that — her children and grandchildren have tried to shake that habit but alas, some things are hereditary.

She built a thriving group-travel business focused on Broadway, which she adored. For several decades, Carole and her family saw every show and preview that came to Broadway. Her love of the theatre and all the people in it was infectious.

She always believed in giving back and led by example. Carole was president of the local Hadassah chapter during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. She took her family to Israel right after the war to visit wounded soldiers at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. She was also president and co-founder with her husband of the local civic association.

Running a business and raising four kids was stressful enough for her that she got divorced at 67 years of age and did what all divorced women from Long Island do: she moved to Las Vegas!

What happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas for too long because Carole wanted to live closer to her kids. The last six years, she has lived in Atlanta near three of her four children. The legacy she leaves her 10 grandchildren is to always speak truth to power and never be afraid to fight for what you believe is right, especially as a Jew.

She is predeceased by her parents, Rose and Max Gantz, her ex-husband, Arnold Fishman; and is survived her sister, Charlotte Roth, Bonnie and Dr. Eric Fishman (Madison, Emma, Molly), Beth and Evan Fishman (Ali and Sam, Shelby), Susan and Ross Fishman (Sophie, Hannah, Ellie), and Elizabeth and Jonathan Oppenheim (Olivia and Avery).