Barbara Frankel Death, Obituary – Barbara Frankel has passed away untimely and unexpectedly leaving friends, loved ones, family, and the entire community heartbroken and in grievance, according to a social media sharing. The middle of Paul and Sarah Magil Brown’s three children and the only female between Hershel and Donald, Barbara Brown was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 24, 1928. Her siblings Hershel and Donald were both boys. Her education was expedited, and she completed the requirements for her high school diploma at the age of sixteen. She served as the editor of the student newspaper at her school.
Her essay encouraging people to purchase war bonds was selected as the winner of a competition held nationally, and she was given the award in person by the Secretary of the Treasury. She attended the University of Chicago for her education and, after two years, was awarded a Ph.B., which was a unique and multidisciplinary degree that was available back then. Barbara moved back to Philadelphia, where she had previously met and married Herbert L. Frankel. At the time of their wedding, Barbara was just 20 years old.
They had a daughter named Claire (Frankel) Sholes, a son named David Frankel, and a daughter named Joan Frankel. During the time that her children were younger, Barbara worked on sculptures, read, and engaged in a variety of creative and political activities. The family moved to Rome, Italy, in 1963-4 and stayed there for an entire year. By the late 1960s, Barbara had resumed her studies after taking a few years off to raise her family. First, she earned her Bachelor of Arts through an independent study program at Goddard College.
After that, she enrolled in a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology program at Temple University. Her thesis, which was eventually turned into a book, was on the urban legends and myths surrounding childbirth in the ghetto of North Philadelphia. Her exceptional performance when she was a student at Temple won her a Danforth Fellowship for Women, which she later put toward her doctoral studies at Princeton University. Her dissertation led to the publication of a second book, which was about the culture of a community that helped alcoholics and drug users.
After completing her education in 1973, she went on to work as an anthropology professor at Lehigh University for a total of 20 years. She eventually became a full professor and served for two years as the Associate Dean of the Arts and Sciences department. She relocated to Bethlehem a few years after Dr. Herbert Frankel passed away in 1976, and she lived in that city until she relocated to Shrewsbury in 2013.