Fanny Schiff

If living today, my cousin Fanny would be referred to as moderately intellectually disabled. Yet she was very friendly, caring, loving, and able to function well in her limited environments. She was quite small in stature - childlike all her life.

When I was a child, Fanny would often walk the many blocks from where she resided (with her sister Frieda & 2 teen neices, Carol & Sherry) to my Grandma Mary & Grandpa Jacob Schiff's home on Grace Avenue in Akron, Ohio.

So often, Fanny would be in tears over mean words & taunts, money & other things taken from her, being left out, & other negative experiences on her home front. With hugs, kind words, & treats, Grandma would calm her & wipe her tears.

My sister & I loved being with Fanny. As she aged, her sister Frieda placed her in a state institution. Being a high schooler, there was little I could do to "save" her from institutionalization. Steve & I were dating then, & he & I would drive to Applecreek State Hospital to visit her. All she ever asked for was a baby doll & candy. Of course we brought her the sweetest looking doll we could find.

Within a few years, she passed away. She is buried in Sherbondy Jewish Cemetery in Akron, Ohio nearby Rose Fine, Jacob Schiff, Mary Schiff, & other family. On our trips to Akron, we say a prayer for them all & leave a stone on their graves.

                                                                            by cousin Abby Cohen Phillips