Babette Meyers Frankenberg

May 16, 1916 - February 28, 2015 Babette Meyers Frankenberg-known to her family and many friends as "Bobbe"-died February 28 at age 98, having lived a richly variegated and adventurous life that channeled her pioneering spirit as a feminist before her time. Bobbe was born on May 16, 1916, in the hardscrabble mining town of Bisbee, Arizona, and moved with her parents to Beverly Hills when Sunset Boulevard had yet to be fully paved. She was a successful business woman in the 1940s, when female entrepreneurs were a rare breed, and through the 1980s, as women increasingly rose to prominence in corporate America. She found great success in commercial and residential real estate as well in public relations. In the 1950s she handled Mark Taper's PR for his ambitious Lakewood development. With Coldwell Banker, Bobbe sold many of the more remarkable Los Angeles homes of her time-remarkable both for their lavishness and their residents. Bobbe was also an outdoors woman and athlete, fishing and riding horses. She skied and played tennis competitively, often against men. She raised and trained dogs and was a sports car enthusiast, well-known for the rainbow-painted Porsche in which she made her real estate rounds. Bobbe traveled widely throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. As a patron of the arts she greatly enjoyed classical music and in recent years, Lady Gaga. Her rapier wit and playful sense of humor was matched by her care and concern for others. Never one to talk about herself, Bobbe focused her incandescent personality on whomever she was with; her joyful presence absorbed as much as her quiet smile radiated. Bobbe leaves behind friends and classmates from Beverly Hills High School (1935, Class President), UC Berkeley and UCLA (1939, BA European History). She will be dearly missed by her family, including her niece Jeanne Meyers (Richard Carr) and nephews Charles Franklin (Susie) and Wayne Franklin (Susan); her grandnieces and nephews, Elissa (Clark Middleton) and Lucas Meyers (Margaret); Zachary Franklin (Sofia Zander), Seth Franklin (Kristin), Judd Franklin (Tybe Goldberg); and Jason Franklin, Barrett Franklin (Lea) and Shannon Hegarty (Terry); as well as by her great grandnieces and nephew, Ellington and August Meyers; Molly Franklin and Clara Zander; and Adena Franklin. Bobbe was predeceased by her younger brothers Benny (Ben Jr.) (same day as Bobbe, February 28, but 1973) and Maynard Franklin (2011). Beneficiaries of Babette's profoundly philanthropic nature include several health and educational institutes. She and her brother Maynard left the gem and mineral collection originally amassed by their parents, Ben and Clara, in Bisbee, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, where it can now be seen by all.