Frieda K Bradlow

Frieda Kahn Bradlow, longtime community activist and volunteer, passionate artist, and devoted wife, mother and grandmother, passed away on October 1, 2024 at the age of 91 after a brief illness. Her children, grandchildren, other family members, and friends miss her terribly.

Frieda was born on November 22, 1932 in Würzburg, Germany to Lea and Eugen Kahn. She, her parents, and her older brother Albert emigrated to the United States in 1936. Frieda grew up among family members who had already come to the U.S. in Danville, Virginia, where she graduated from George Washington High School. She followed many family members to the Baltimore area, and graduated from Goucher College in 1954. Frieda then moved to New York and received her Master’s degree in Social Work at what is now the Columbia School of Social Work.

Following Social Work school, Frieda worked at what was then Hillside Hospital on Long Island, where she met aspiring psychoanalyst Paul Bradlow. Frieda and Paul married in 1959 and bought a home in the West Village. That home has been a haven for them, their children, and friends and family members, particularly those emigrating to the U.S. from South Africa or attending graduate school in New York City. Together, Frieda and Paul supported the arts, particularly printmaking and theater, and took many trips to London to see the latest plays by Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and the like. In Paul’s later years, they enjoyed summers in Maine.

Frieda was a champion for many social, political and environmental causes. She was a proud longtime member of the Village Independent Democrats and often served on its Executive Committee. She also was a member of both the Manhattan and New York City Solid Waste Disposal Advisory Boards. Frieda also worked for many years as a campaign treasurer and volunteer for the late New York City Councilmember Miriam Friedlander. She is also a past treasurer and advisory board member for the New York theater company Compagnia de Colombari.

Frieda also loved making pottery all her life. For many years, she took classes at the pottery studio at Greenwich House. Her home, and those of many family members, are adorned with her beautiful, original, jaunty, yet earth-toned creations.

Frieda was preceded in death by her parents, Lea and Eugene Kahn, her brother Albert Kahn, and the love of her life, Paul Bradlow, M.D. She is survived by her four children, Julie Bradlow (Wayne Petrea), Robert Bradlow (Mylene Cabreros), Jonathan Bradlow, M.D. (Lisa), and Eric Bradlow (Laura). She is also survived by her six grandchildren, Ethan Bradlow, Ava Bradlow, Zachary Bradlow, Simon Bradlow, Evelyn Gause and Benjamin Bradlow, her nieces Janet Bradlow (Joseph Schmitt), Sophie Kahn, and Rachel Kahn (Jacob Marcher), her nephew Alec Bradlow (Diana), and a host of great nieces, great nephews, and friends.

A funeral service will be held at Riverside Memorial Chapel on Sunday, October 6.

Contributions in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen in New York City.