FANNY GERSHMAN

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FANNY GERSHMAN Fanny Gershman, 89, of Grand Forks, ND died Tuesday, November 18, 2002 at Altru Hospital, Grand Forks, after a short illness. Fanny was born on June 14, 1913 in Minsk, Belarus. She immigrated with her parents, Samuel and Rose Palay, via Poland to Winnipeg, Canada at the age of eight where she grew up. She married Harry Gershman of Grand Forks in 1936 in Winnipeg. Fanny worked as a volunteer serving many agencies in the community that she came to love. After training with the Red Cross in 1953, she was an instructor for nurses aides and home nursing at the Deaconess, St. Michaels, and Rehabilitation Hospitals. She served on the boards of the United Hospital, Home Delivered Meals, BNai Israel Hadassah League and the Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre. To raise funds for the Diabetes Association as well as the Community Theatre, Fanny hosted several Russian dinners at her home over the years. She was chairperson of the Disaster Food Service which fed hundreds of relief workers for six weeks during the Grand Forks flood of 1966. For this and all her volunteer efforts, Fanny was recognized in 1980 as Grand Forks Woman of the Year by the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. She is survived by her daughters, Beverly (Marc) Schlechter of Thousand Oaks, CA, Diana Shnider of Victoria, BC, and son, Hal (Kathy) of Grand Forks, ND. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Brent (Andrea) Hurtig of San Francisco, CA, Marla Hurtig of Los Angeles, CA, Sharlene (Paul) Forest of Winnipeg, MB, and Leonora Gershman of New York, NY and four great-grandchildren, Zachary Gottlieb, Max Hurtig, and Shauna and Evan Forest. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harry; brothers, Robert Palay and Morley Palay and son-in-law Charles Shnider. The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to the Grand Forks Humane Society, 6900 Gateway Dr. Grand Forks, ND 58203, The American Red Cross, 1708 River Road Northwest East Grand Forks, MN 56721 or the Empire Arts Center, 415 Demers Ave. Grand Forks, ND 58201. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m., Friday, November 22 at B`nai Israel Synagogue, Grand Forks, ND. Burial at Montefiore Cemetery, Grand Forks, ND. Gregory J. Norman-Norman Funeral Home, So Washington St., Grand Forks, ND. in care of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 21, 2002