Frances Silberfeld

Frances Silberfeld of Voorhees, NJ passed away on February 23, 2023, one month after celebrating her 101st birthday with family and friends. She is survived by her son Scott Silberfeld and wife Abby Easterly of Manchester, NH, her daughter Marcy Silberfeld Rosner and husband Ted Rosner of Moorestown, NJ, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Born in The Bronx, she met her husband while waiting on the registration line at Columbia University. Fran and her husband Vic Silberfeld moved to Fort Lee, NJ shortly after getting married in 1947, and moved to New Milford, NJ in 1954. She continued studying drawing and painting throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s at various schools including the Brooklyn Museum, Art Student League and Victor Candell’s private studio in Greenwich Village. She taught painting and drawing in several adult education schools, the Art Center of Northern NJ, as in her private studio. Her work was exhibited in many solo and group juried shows, including ones at the Newark, Trenton, Morris and Whitney museums, and many colleges and libraries.

The most important things in Fran’s life were her nuclear and extended family, community, and art. Vic and Fran were part of the founding members of New Milford Jewish Center in the early 1950’s. Fran became one of the pioneer members and a trustee of the Art Center of Northern New Jersey. In 1986 Vic and Fran moved to Mt. Laurel, NJ and became active in the Art Center of Southern New jersey and Congregation M’Kor Shalom. Fran moved to Lionsgate in Voorhees, NJ. In 2004 and felt very fortunate to be able to spend her remaining years there.

Fran was predeceased by her husband Vic who died in 1999. With Vic’s love, support, and advise, Fran was able to live her life as a strong, independent woman. Although Vic was known as the jokester of the couple, Fran had a great sense of humor, most of it directed towards herself. When she was invited to display one of her paintings at the Whitney Museum in New York City and noticed it was not far from both a Picasso and a Chagall, her response was “While the people are admiring my painting, I hope they will like the Picasso and the Chagall also.”

Fran was one of the most kind, generous, sincere, creative, accepting, non-judgmental, and progressive woman of her time. Her legacy will live on through her beautiful paintings and pastels that hang on many walls across the country as well as through the wonderful qualities and talents her children, grandchildren and great- children have been so fortunate to inherit.

Contributionsmay be made to SNAG Metalsmith, www.snagmetalsmith.org or QC Bike Collective, www.qcbike.org