Obituary: Raye Freedman

Raye Freedman

* Raye Freedman, philanthropist. Died aged 96.

Rachel Raye Freedman had a lifelong love of music and the arts as well as an enduring belief in the importance of education for young women.

When she heard that Epsom Girls Grammar School in Auckland was raising funds to build a creative arts centre, her interest was aroused. Her generous donation meant that the centre was completed in time for Mrs Freedman to see it and enjoy it.

Mrs Freedman also endowed an annual arts scholarship for students at Epsom Girls.

The money came from her successful property development business. Her first property is now a major part of the Raye Freedman Charitable Trust.

Born Rachel Ginsberg in Winnipeg, Canada, Mrs Freedman moved to London when she left school to train as a speech therapist. When war broke out in 1939, she returned to Canada, and on the ship met her first husband, Ernest Blumenthal, a Czech refugee escaping Hitler's Europe. He persuaded her to move to New Zealand, and they were married in Auckland in 1941.

Mrs Freedman worked as a teacher and speech therapist, but this was not enough to support her after Ernest died in 1968. Property development seemed possible as a part-time venture, and the business flourished.

A childhood incident in Canada led to Mrs Freedman's philanthropy. Two elderly nuns arrived at the family home one cold winter night, seeking charity. She turned them away. When her father heard what she had done, he was furious and bundled her out the door to find the women and bring them home for food and warmth.

"This incident happened when I was 12 years of age and made one of the greatest impacts on my whole being. The way I have since tried to conduct my life goes back to those early years."

Mrs Freedman was closely involved in the establishment of Shalom Court, a Jewish rest home. The Raye Freedman Library in Remuera promotes Jewish secular education and provides educational resources on subjects of Jewish interest. She was a keen supporter of Kadimah College in Auckland and of other Jewish groups.

She was married a second time, to Mannie Freedman, who died in 1986. She had no children.