Saralee Beletz-Fried Obituary

Saralee Beletz-Fried

Scottsdale, Arizona - Saralee Beletz-Fried passed away on Friday, January 12th surrounded by her children Robert, Barbara Menzel (David) and Melinda Romero (Tony). Saralee was born in Chicago, Ill. on September 13, 1927, the oldest of Rose and Mike Kohn's four children. She graduated from Marshall High School. Her siblings Phoebe, Burton (Buddy) and Jerome (Jerry) have preceded her in death. Saralee married Abraham (Al) Beletz on October 4, 1947 and raised four children.They lived in Skokie, Ill. and Miller Beach (Gary) Indiana where she was active in the synagogue, a girl scout leader, a room mother, and community volunteer. In 1968, Saralee and Al settled in Scottsdale, AZ.She worked alongside her husband in two of their businesses, the Shangri-La Resort in Paradise Valley and The Cheapskate in Tempe. In her late 60's and 70's she worked for Coopers Children's Shoes and later, Nordstrom's. Parents came from all over the valley to have their children's shoes fitted by the "Shoe Guru." After 43 years of marriage, her beloved husband Al passed away. In 1993, Saralee married Arnold Fried. Saralee and Arnold spent five enjoyable years together before he passed in 1998. She shared the last sixteen years with Allen Jablonsky, who died five days before Saralee. Lifelong learning was important to Saralee. She enrolled in college classes and participated in discussion groups until shortly before her death. Saralee marched for civil rights in the 1960's and worked for issues she was passionate about such as the lack of funding for Arizona's public schools. Wearing her high heels and dressed in the latest fashion, she carried petitions for important issues, even into her 80's. She led meetings promoting Healthcare as a right for all, ran phone banks, and registered people to vote. As a proud member of the Democratic Party she actively volunteered on presidential campaigns. She was a woman of substance, a woman that made a positive impact in our world. In 2008, Saralee and a few friends started to meet on the last Tuesday of the month for lunch to discuss local and national politics. She called it "the Blue Tuesday Luncheon." What started with a small group of women in the Scottsdale area has now grown to 150 members from the East Valley and beyond. Politics, social justice issues, and candidates are always on the agenda. Throughout her lifetime, Saralee made many friends and touched many lives in special ways. She took great joy in celebrating special occasions with her family and sharing the many traditions of her Jewish faith. Saralee will be remembered as a beautiful, caring, intelligent and gracious woman (who always seemed much younger than her actual age). Her love for family, reading, fashion, shopping, politics, world travel, restaurant hopping, movies and the theatre kept her mind sharp and her daily schedule packed. Saralee was greatly loved, respected and adored by her family and friends. She often said that she lived a full life and that certainly rings true. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, sister-in-law Lea Koplon, 15 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and nieces, nephews and cousins living throughout the United States. At her request, a private graveside service was held at Green Acres Cemetery. A Celebration of her Life is planned for the spring. In lieu of flowers, and in Saralee's honor, please make donations to The Chandler Education Foundation for the Chandler CARE Center or the Student Crisis Fund at 1525 West Frye Road Chandler, Arizona 85224.