Obituary: Frances B. Bunzl

Frances B. Bunzl of Atlanta passed away peacefully at the age of 99 Aug. 15, 2019. She was born in Wiesbaden, Germany, March 22, 1920. Frances Hamburger and Walter Bunzl were engaged Dec. 7, 1941 and married Dec. 25, 1941.

She was preceded in death by her husband Walter; son Richard; and brother Carl Hamburger. She is survived by her daughter Suzanne (Suzy) Bunzl Wilner; granddaughter, Anna Wilner; daughter-in-law Patricia (Tricia) Huey Bunzl; and sister-in-law Rosemary Rhyne Hamburger.

In Frankfurt, Germany, from 1937 to 1939, she worked in the Jewish Hospital. During Kristallnacht she hid a doctor in the infectious disease ward because the Nazis would not go into that ward. She fled to England in 1939 and arrived in New York January 1940. In 1941, she moved to Atlanta, following her brother Carl to Georgia.

While raising her daughter Suzy, she was a Girl Scouts leader for 10 years. Frances and Walter were among the founding members of Temple Sinai in 1968.

She was chancellor of the Austrian consulate in Atlanta from 1972 to 1987 and president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women from 1963 to 1967. During her tenure, the national convention was held in Atlanta, with Hubert Humphrey as the main speaker.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals of Atlanta honored her as the 2008 Philanthropist of the Year. Organizations she supported included The Bascomb museum in Highlands, N.C., Yemin Orde in Israel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Family and Career Services, and many others.

In 1988 she set up the timpani chair at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in memory of her late husband Walter, who died earlier that year. At the High Museum of Art, she funded the curator of European art. She also supported several major exhibitions, and in 2007 the Frances B. Bunzl Administrative Building at the High Museum was named after her.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in Frances’ memory be made to the charity of your choice. A funeral service was held Aug. 18 at Ahavath Achim Synagogue with a burial immediately following at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Shiva was held Aug. 18.

Arrangements made by Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care, 770-451-4999. Please sign the online guestbook at dresslersjewishfunerals.com.

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