Obituary of Julie Fiks

FIKS Albany, New York Julie Fiks, 85, of Albany died November 10th, at home, after a short battle with cancer. Devoted wife of Max, beloved mother of Bettina (Howie) Stoller and Eliot Fiks of Binghamton, and loving grandmother of Aaron and Jeremy Stoller. Also survived by a brother, Erwin Kleinfeld, of Reno, Nevada. Born in 1923 in Vienna, Austria, Julie emigrated to Brooklyn in 1939 to escape the Nazis. There she completed high school and went to work to help support her family, giving up a promising career as a dancer. Max and Julie married in 1946, moving from Brooklyn to Maryland to Queens to Staten Island, before making their final home in Albany to be near their daughter and her young children. It took Julie, a stay-at-home mom, many years of going to college part-time to complete her social work degree; she graduated the year her daughter graduated high school. She immediately went to work for the N.Y.C. Housing Authority as a housing assistant, helping the project residents in any way she could. Julie loved classical music, opera, ballet, theatre, and cinema. She felt very strongly about social welfare, and was able to discuss politics with a sharp mind until the end. She and Max gave countless dollars to a variety of charities, and she was quick to lend a hand to a friend or stranger in need. Even as she became weaker physically, she remained feisty and determined. Special thanks go to Dr. Roberta Miller, whom Julie deeply admired, and long-time caretaker, Pam. Pam's daughers, Kiyana and Lameda, and her friend, Naadira, were also of great help in Julie's last days. Services at the B'nai Sholom Reform Congregation 420 Whitehall Road Albany, NY on Thursday November 13, 2008 at 2:00pm Interment will immediately follow in the Independent Benevolent Cemetery on Fuller Road in Guilderland, NY The family will be sitting shiva (mourning for the family member) at the Stoller home on Thurs. and Sat. from 7-9 and Sun. from 4-8, with a minyan (Jewish prayer service) on Thurs. and Sat. at 7:30. In lieu of a flowers, the family would appreciate your donating to one of the following charities: Jewish Family Services - http://www.jfsneny.org/. Visiting Nurses Association - http://www.vnaalbany.org/ Jewish National Fund to plant a tree in Israel - http://www.jnf.org/.