Obituary: Phyllis Frankel - Atlanta Jewish Times

Phyllis Frankel passed away peacefully on Aug. 3, 2024, in Atlanta after a long illness. She was born in New York City on Dec. 13, 1930, to Nathan and Helen Freedman. Phyllis was an only child, but throughout her childhood and teenage years she was surrounded by her maternal relatives, including four aunts and numerous cousins, who all lived in her Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. Phyllis graduated from Julia Richman High School in Manhattan and attended Syracuse University.

Following college, Phyllis worked in New York City’s jewelry district and then in the sales department for women’s clothing company Maidenform. In 1956, while visiting Miami for her cousin’s wedding, she met her beloved husband and soulmate, Jerome S. Frankel, on a blind date and they were married a few months later. They were married for 48 years when he passed away in 2005.

Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Liz Pila (Moritz) of Tampa, her son, Steve Frankel (Nicole) of Amagansett, N.Y. and Miami Beach, and five grandchildren, Joshua Pila (Jennifer) of Atlanta, Rachel Prochut (Eric) of Tampa, Sarah Pila-Leiderman (Eric) and Stefani Kasimer (Nathan) of Chicago, and Samantha Winters of New York, and six great-grandchildren, Zachary Pila, Gabriel Pila, Louis Prochut, Nehama Kasimer, Haddasa Kamisar, and Jack Leiderman.

The Frankels relocated from Miami to Atlanta in 1970, but even after living in Georgia for more than 50 years Phyllis never lost her distinctive New York accent. She was an active member of the Atlanta Jewish community for many years, first as a congregant of Temple Sinai and then Etz Chaim, and was also a member of Hadassah and ORT. Phyllis was an avid reader and excellent card player, enjoying competitive weekly games of bridge and canasta for many years. She was an extremely kind, outgoing and friendly person who had never met a stranger.

Throughout her life, Phyllis always remembered and enthusiastically celebrated the birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions of her many friends and relatives, whose good health and happiness were very important to her.

The family wishes to thank Phyllis’s caregivers for their loving and dedicated care and support.

Funeral services were held on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at 2 p.m. at H.M. Patterson & Son – Arlington Chapel in Sandy Springs, Ga., with burial to follow at Arlington Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Phyllis’s memory to Congregation Etz Chaim, www.etzchaim.net, 1900 Indian Hills Parkway NE, Marietta, GA 30068.

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