FREDA BAND

FREDA BAND

BAND, FREDA (nee ROSEN) 1926 – 2021 The Song is Over We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Freda, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, in her 95th year. A cherished and beloved mother to Ellen, Ira, and Sephi and Jeff, and adored grandmother to Zoe, Freda was also a loyal and dedicated daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. Music was a prime focal point of her life. Born in Kingston, Ontario, to her parents Hyman and Annie Rosen, to whom she was devoted, Freda was the third of five children.

As her eldest niece said, “If Freda was in the house, there was always singing and music playing.” She appeared regularly on radio shows as Little Freda Rosen in the late 1930s and early 1940s and won the top prize on Ken Sobel’s Amateur Hour on Toronto radio at the age of eleven. Always filled with joie de vivre and an exuberant buoyancy, Freda also embraced thespianism, most notably playing the role of Ariel in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, at Queen’s University in the late 1940s. The arts moved to the sideline when Freda married her husband Philip and moved to Toronto to raise three children and provide lots of love to her growing family. She also became an ardent volunteer and philanthropist for numerous charities, and until the end, was a committed member and volunteer at Na’amat Canada, Club Masada, and Pioneer Women.

But music and singing remained an enduring and compelling passion. She performed in numerous plays and theatrical productions at her synagogues and was always called upon to croon a favourite tune for her extended family whenever there were large get-togethers. Even among strangers, or in foreign locals she wasn’t shy. At the age of nearly 70, on a road trip in Ireland with her husband in 1994, Freda wasn’t fazed by having to drive on the “wrong” side of the road. And when pulling into an Irish pub on music night for a serving of fish and chips, she thought nothing of taking the microphone, and serenading the patrons and punters with a round of Irish folk songs.

Most important of all, she passed on her love of music to her children, all of whom found their calling in one way or another through music. Sadly, Freda left us after sustaining serious injuries in a fall at her home on May 25th. Two of her children, her son-in-law and granddaughter, were with her when she slipped away peacefully several days later. Freda is survived by her three children, her son-in-law, granddaughter, her sister Helen, numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. She was predeceased by her husband Philip in 2009.

And so, the song is over, but the melody endures, and its beautiful loving singer remains forever in our hearts, always in our thoughts. Condolences and memories can be shared by visiting Benjamins.ca under current listings. Memorial donations may be made to Na’amat Canada, 416-636-5425 (https://Bit.Ly/3fYyuA0) or to the charity of your choice.