Freddi Sue Finegood, Jewish community leader and businesswoman who called both Los Angeles and New York home, died peacefully at her home in New York on July 25 after a long illness. She was 60.
Finegood was born July 27, 1950, and raised in Los Angeles under the Hollywood sign; she graduated from Hollywood High School and UCLA. After an early career as a fundraiser in the Jewish community and then with the family furniture business, she moved to New York City, where she started a business as an art consultant. She later co-launched a juvenile bedding company called Bananafish and served on the board of the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association.
Finegood was a steadfast patron of the arts. She loved contemporary and fine art, theater and jazz in particular. She was a true product of her family’s extraordinary and generous philanthropic leadership. She was active in The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, including serving on the board of the Furniture division.
Ultimately, she joined the national Young Women’s Leadership cabinet of the UJA. In New York, her philanthropy continued on the Federation distribution committee, and then the board of DOROT. She became president of DOROT three years ago, actively steering DOROT while battling her illness; she was recently re-elected to another term as president.
Finegood is survived by her husband, Ethan Horwitz; daughters Emily and Jessica; sons Matt and Jason; granddaughter Liba Shifra; and mother Rae Finegood. She was predeceased by her brother, Danny.
With her warmth and generosity of spirit, Finegood had a very large number of devoted friends, all of whom join her family in the terrible sense of loss. She will be truly missed.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. July 28 in New York City at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, 630 Amsterdam Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations in Finegold’s memory can be made to DOROT, 171 W. 85th St., New York, N.Y., 10024 or at dorotusa.org, or to the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research, 9201 Sunset Blvd., Suite 300, West Hollywood, CA, 90069.
