This morning I learned that the world lost Elissa Froman, and I wanted to share some thoughts about her. Elissa was someone who really stood out to me. She was extremely passionate, thoughtful, smart, a really good friend and just fricken hilarious.
I met Elissa when I was the Program Director at George Washington University Hillel in 2003-2004, when she was a sophomore. I was introduced by Wade Strauss, who was working with engagement of some of the younger students, and she worked with him and some other students to organize the retreat for Jewish freshmen. Elissa felt that Hillel was really organized around Israel and Israel politics as well as religion, but that one major piece was missing. We were, after all a school in Washington DC, and many of the students were interested in domestic politics. Elissa started a student group dedicated to liberal American politics. One of my favorite lines of hers was the non-existent t-shirt design for the student group: Because You Can't Fly with Only a Right Wing. It would have picture of a bird falling out of the sky.
Elissa truly stood out in my year at GW. She was always around, involved in so many great activities and with all of the best people. She did SO much, and she did it with a fantastic attitude and so much dedication. She was always the one who would go shopping for some program at 10pm, stay after to clean up, debrief...and she was just so great to have around. I remember driving Elissa to the airport at the end of the year, to fly off for the summer, and realizing that she was just a super special person.
Every time I was in DC I met up with her, saw her in New York when I lived there, and the last time I saw her was in 2010, when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Samara. She made time to meet me for dinner during the AIPAC convention and a lot of her own responsibilities. She sent a gift when Samara was born, and we swapped a few emails since, but while I was living up my experience in Singapore, Elissa was fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
I won't pretend to know all of the details of her experience or treatment, but she was diagnosed in 2006, she was treated, cancer free, then it returned. She ultimately had a stem cell transplant, and she blogged about some of her experiences, from 2008 to 2011 here. I also don't know the details of her death, but as I understand it, it isn't exactly the cancer, but rather that her body had so much to deal with. She has been in the hospital for over a year with infection after infection and finally her body lost her battle.
Elissa touched and inspired so many lives - she went to Jewy camp, worked at amazing organizations, including the Religious Action Center, National Council for Jewish Women, she was accepted to HUC rabbinical school and was planning to go. And she was a leader wherever she went. She truly spent her life and her well years doing all that she could to make the world a better and funnier place. There is a spot in my life that will be empty of her, and I know this is true for so so many people in Chicago, DC and around the world.
This is another of those moments when I absolutely hate living so far away (and at this moment not even being allowed to leave my apartment at all...). If I were in the US, I would hop on a plane in a minute to be at her funeral in Chicago on Sunday, just to be with so many other people who loved her too. The world will truly miss Elissa Froman.
I met Elissa when I was the Program Director at George Washington University Hillel in 2003-2004, when she was a sophomore. I was introduced by Wade Strauss, who was working with engagement of some of the younger students, and she worked with him and some other students to organize the retreat for Jewish freshmen. Elissa felt that Hillel was really organized around Israel and Israel politics as well as religion, but that one major piece was missing. We were, after all a school in Washington DC, and many of the students were interested in domestic politics. Elissa started a student group dedicated to liberal American politics. One of my favorite lines of hers was the non-existent t-shirt design for the student group: Because You Can't Fly with Only a Right Wing. It would have picture of a bird falling out of the sky.
Elissa truly stood out in my year at GW. She was always around, involved in so many great activities and with all of the best people. She did SO much, and she did it with a fantastic attitude and so much dedication. She was always the one who would go shopping for some program at 10pm, stay after to clean up, debrief...and she was just so great to have around. I remember driving Elissa to the airport at the end of the year, to fly off for the summer, and realizing that she was just a super special person.
Every time I was in DC I met up with her, saw her in New York when I lived there, and the last time I saw her was in 2010, when I was 12 weeks pregnant with Samara. She made time to meet me for dinner during the AIPAC convention and a lot of her own responsibilities. She sent a gift when Samara was born, and we swapped a few emails since, but while I was living up my experience in Singapore, Elissa was fighting Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
I won't pretend to know all of the details of her experience or treatment, but she was diagnosed in 2006, she was treated, cancer free, then it returned. She ultimately had a stem cell transplant, and she blogged about some of her experiences, from 2008 to 2011 here. I also don't know the details of her death, but as I understand it, it isn't exactly the cancer, but rather that her body had so much to deal with. She has been in the hospital for over a year with infection after infection and finally her body lost her battle.
Elissa touched and inspired so many lives - she went to Jewy camp, worked at amazing organizations, including the Religious Action Center, National Council for Jewish Women, she was accepted to HUC rabbinical school and was planning to go. And she was a leader wherever she went. She truly spent her life and her well years doing all that she could to make the world a better and funnier place. There is a spot in my life that will be empty of her, and I know this is true for so so many people in Chicago, DC and around the world.
This is another of those moments when I absolutely hate living so far away (and at this moment not even being allowed to leave my apartment at all...). If I were in the US, I would hop on a plane in a minute to be at her funeral in Chicago on Sunday, just to be with so many other people who loved her too. The world will truly miss Elissa Froman.
3 comments:
What a lovely, lovely post. I remember Elissa telling me about your date when you were pregnant. She told me she wished she could have spent more time with you in general and loved being your friend. I am sending you HUGE hugs.
I know Elissa was also very proud of you and your adventures abroad. We'll be doing an event in DC if you are able to fly back for it, but I know that is pretty difficult, too. xxoo
Thank you for your beautiful post, Melanie!!!
Such a nice tribute to Elissa, Melanie. Thank you!
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