Fritzi Schoen

1933 - 2018

Fritzi Schoen

September 17, 1933 - March 19, 2018

Friedericke "Fritzi" Schoen passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 19, at her home and surrounded by family and friends. She was eighty-four years old and lived a long, adventurous, and fulfilling life. Fritzi was born to Frederich and Hermine Puhringer on September 17, 1933, just outside Vienna, Austria. At the outbreak of World War II, Frederich sent Fritzi, along with her younger siblings Erika, Joseph ("Pepe"), and Brigitte, to a boarding school in Switzerland to escape the Nazi regime. When the war ended, Fritzi returned to the Austrian town of Traun. After graduating from high school, Fritzi set out for the New World, stopping first in Caracas, Venezuela, working for an Austrian bank.
After three years in Venezuela, Fritzi went back to Austria, working as a fashion model in Vienna and Paris. Fritzi then returned to the New World, this time joining her younger sister Erika, who had recently settled in Eureka, California. While Fritzi enjoyed being reunited with her sister, the bright lights and energy of San Francisco beckoned, and she relocated there in 1958. It was there that she met the love of her life, Edgar Schoen, M.D., a Kaiser Permanente physician, at the San Francisco Opera. Ed and Fritzi married in 1960, settled in Oakland, and remained married for fifty-six years, until Ed's passing in 2016. Fritzi and Ed raised two children, Melissa and Eric.
In addition to raising Melissa and Eric, Fritzi remained active in community affairs over the next fifty years. Among other activities, Fritzi was a founding member and later President of the Permanente Medical Wives East Bay Chapter, a social and service organization that supported the Permanente Medical Group and the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. She also served in leadership roles at the Montclair Community Play Center and the Joaquin Miller Elementary School PTA.
Fritzi was also an active volunteer for Jewish community causes. She served as President of the Temple Beth Abraham Sisterhood and was a tireless volunteer for her beloved Temple Sinai in Oakland, where she received the Rae Stern Woman of Distinction Award in 1982. She was also active in Women's American ORT, where she served as Vice-President of its Northern California East Bay Region, and in 1985-86, was honored as its Woman of the Year for her substantial efforts on behalf of ORT.
Fritzi loved and supported the local arts community. She served on the board of the Oakland East Bay Symphony, and she and Ed were long time patrons of the San Francisco Opera. Fritzi and Ed were also award winning dancers and longtime members of the San Francisco Waltzing Society.
While her accomplishments were plentiful, what friends and family will best remember Fritzi for were her talents as a grand hostess. Whether it was entertaining visiting dignitaries from Austria, the newest Kaiser pediatric residency class, her close group of friends dubbed the "Viennese Mafia," or a friend or family member's birthday, she was always willing to open her home, and there was nothing like a party hosted by Fritzi Schoen!
Fritzi was beloved by her family and friends and is survived by Melissa and her husband Andy Huntington, Eric and his wife Stephanie, and four grandchildren, Gabriel Loza, Benjamin Huntington, Sarah Schoen, and Allison Schoen. Fritzi could not have asked for a more fulfilling life! Fritzi's family would like to thank all of her wonderful caretakers and Kaiser Oakland Hospice. In lieu of flowers, Fritzi's family requests that any donations be made to either the charity of your choice or to Temple Sinai's Camp Newman Fund. A memorial will be held Wednesday, March 28, 11:00 a.m., at Temple Sinai in Oakland.