Louise G Fradkin

Louise G. Fradkin, co-founder of Children of Aging Parents, the nonprofit volunteer support group, died at home in Levittown late Tuesday of natural causes. She was 85.
Mrs. Fradkin founded Children of Aging Parents (CAPS) in 1977 with fellow Levittown resident Mirca Liberti as a support group after her mother was diagnosed from Alzheimer's, a disease Mrs. Fradkin herself suffered from in recent years. The group evolved into an organization that also focused on outreach and education for caregivers of the elderly with branches across the country.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Mrs. Fradkin authored or coauthored numerous works related to her work with caregivers including the chapter "Caregiving" in the book Our Bodies, Ourselves, Growing Older, as part of the Our Bodies, Ourselves self-help series and Caregiving of Older Adults, part of the Choices and Challenges series. She also wrote and edited Aging Parents and Common Sense: A Practical Guide for You and Your Parents.
Mrs. Fradkin was the editor of The Capsule, the bi-monthly CAPS newsletter from 1980-1995 and an associate editor of Dictionary of Eldercare Terminology and Home Care Planning.
As part of her work with CAPS, Mrs. Fradkin helped organize workshops, seminars and speaking engagements and made numerous talk show and TV appearances. She represented CAPS on the OWLS Advisory Board for their First Line of Defense Project in 1993.
She was a member of several organizations including the Advisory Board for Jewish Family and Children Services of Bucks County in Langhorne, the Board of Directors of Penndel Mental Health Center in Langhorne, the Bucks County Chapter of OWLS, the Bucks County Health Needs Assessments, Task Force #8, and Support for the Chronically Ill Homebound Elderly and Their Families at Doylestown Hospital in Doylestown.
Prior to her work with CAPS, Mrs. Fradkin was a reference librarian for 20 years. She was the head of reference at College of New Jersey, then known as Trenton State College. She had previously worked as an architectural designer.
Mrs. Fradkin was born in Philadelphia in 1927. She earned a Bachelor's of Art in Architecture from University of Pennsylvania in 1950 and a Master's of Library Science from Drexel University in 1966.
Mrs. Fradkin is survived by her husband of nearly 65 years, Leon Fradkin; her three children Carrie Fradkin of Lebanon, NH, Jonathan Fradkin of Levittown, and Robin Fradkin of Alexandria, VA; and ten grandchildren.
The family plans to observe shiva at their home in Levittown and funeral services are scheduled for Sunday at the Joseph Levine & Sons Memorial Chapel in Trevose. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) or to Agudas Achim (2908 Valley Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302, phone number 703-998-6460), who will arrange for donations earmarked "Books for Israel" to be donated to Israeli schools in Mrs. Fradkin's memory.