Arthur R Friedman

Arthur R. Friedman was born in the Bronx, NY on September 11, 1950 to loving parents Harriet Oblas Friedman and Irving Friedman. The Bronx shaped Arthur's life, personality, and charisma. He was an avid New York Yankees fan, growing up mere blocks from Yankee Stadium. Arthur spent the second half of his childhood and high school years in Danbury, Connecticut. Arthur's leadership, academic excellence, and impressive athletic abilities were key motifs defining Arthur's life. He was Vice President of his class at Danbury High School and captain of the Danbury High School Tennis Team.

Arthur attended Temple University, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Urban Anthropology & Psychology and was the first member of his immediate family to go to college. Arthur was an active member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity on campus. He was known by his fraternity brothers as, “Art the Dart,” for his grind and go-getter attitude. “Look sharp, move out, no time” became Arthur's lifelong motto.

Seeking higher education, Arthur attended University of Texas at Austin for a Masters Degree in Urban and Economic Anthropology. Through his program at UT Austin, Arthur spent nine months in Peru living with the Quechua Indians at 13,000 feet, studying Andean Reciprocal Labor Exchange. Starting as an outsider in the Andean community, Arthur's natural ability to build rapport led him to assimilate across several remote mountain communities, where he was fondly known as "Arturo." The locals sought out Arthur for his jokes, laughs, and original guitar songs that he wrote for the children.

Post graduate school, Arthur moved to Washington, DC, where he embarked on a career in IT consulting. Arthur became a legendary software tester and was known as the “king of testing.” As CEO of Friedman Consulting, Arthur applied his anthropological background of systems thinking and Enterprise Architecture to develop a proprietary software testing methodology that cut testing time from years to months, and months to weeks. Arthur's expertise led him to companies including Amtrak, Bell Atlantic, MCI, American Management Systems, and the Veterans Administration. Arthur also served as Director of the DC Energy Office and even wrote the office theme song.

In 1997, Arthur married Diane Friedman and they later welcomed daughter, Zoë Isidora, in 2000. Arthur was a dedicated and loving father, always putting his family first. He taught Zoë important lessons like respecting all people regardless of their background, looking at situations from others’ perspectives, being self compassionate while still achieving excellence, and building strong and loyal friendships. Arthur cooked a killer Matzah Brie for his family every year on Passover. Arthur made Zoë's passions his passions, too, and showed a genuine interest. He coached Zoë's soccer team (both as a Head and Assistant Coach) and lived and breathed track and field when Zoë became a runner. He was generous with his praise, love, and encouragement.

Arthur is a great example of how it is always a good time to pursue a new passion or reinvent yourself. In 2016, Arthur became a certified Level 1 United States Track and Field coach. As with anything Arthur did, he did it to the max (scoring 100% on the highly technical exam). He served as Head Coach for Cross Country and Track and Field at two Maryland high schools, helping his athletes win tens of medals and qualify for the prestigious Penn Relays Invitational. Most importantly, Arthur inspired his athletes to always believe in themselves and set their standards high. One of Arthur's coaching career highlights was serving as the head coach of the Track and Field team of the JCC of Greater Washington to the Maccabi Games in St. Louis, Missouri.
Arthur took another career pivot in the early 2000s. He took a break from consulting and founded Friedman Asset Management, where he managed a diverse investment portfolio with a particular interest in the IT sector, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and alternative energy solutions. Arthur was Co-Director of the DC Day/Swing Traders meetup group of both professional and beginner investors. He and his co-host met monthly via Zoom, started a group Youtube Channel, and grew the group to over 2,000 members. Arthur found both joy and friendship through his meetup group.

Arthur loved to have fun and lived life to the fullest. You could find him at a Hot Tuna Concert, NY Yankees baseball game, at Dewey beach, traveling, or at the Stained Glass Pub watching the NY Giants. In his earlier years, Arthur loved to play guitar, write songs, ski, and play tennis.

Arthur was generous with his time and loved giving back to his DC community (and especially the DC Jewish Community). He was on the Board of Directors at Tifereth Israel Synagogue for 3 years, volunteered as Chief Investment Officer of Fabrangen Havurah for 5 years, volunteered for the DC Film Fest for 17 years, and volunteered for nearly 10 years at the Ohr Kodesh Purim Carnival.

One special thing about Arthur was his ability to build and maintain rapport with anyone. His high school friends, fraternity brothers, graduate school friends, ski club friends, and work friends lasted his lifetime. He lit up every room with his big smile and made those around him feel seen, heard, valued, and loved.

In April 2025, Arthur was diagnosed with late stage cancer. Throughout his treatment, he maintained a positive attitude, iron willpower, and fought hard to overcome the cancer. He passed away peacefully on September 30, 2025 surrounded by his friends and daughter, while watching the Yankee game. Many of his friends in the room had been his friends for decades already.

Arthur is survived by his daughter, Zoë Isidora Friedman. He will be missed for his big smile, kindness and warmth, sound advice, love for sports, passion for social justice, and genuine interest in others’ lives. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Operation USA or the American Cancer Society.