Obituary of Rochelle Freid

Rochelle “Shellie” Freid, 76, of Las Vegas, passed away August 14, 2018.  She was born March 31, 1942 in New York City to Dorothy and Frank Berkowitz.  She received her B.A. in Psychology from Queens College and attended graduate school at Florida State University.

Shellie’s passion was protecting animals and the environment.  She was extremely active in rescuing and rehabilitating sick, injured, and abandoned tortoises, birds, and other animals.  While living in Southern California for 20 years, she was known as “The Turtle Lady”, giving hands-on educational talks to thousands of kids and adults and helping to found the Orange County Turtle and Tortoise Society.  She had an exceptional green thumb, effortlessly growing everything from wild flowers, to bromeliads, to silkfloss trees. Her nurturing talents also extended to children.  She both taught at and directed pre-schools where she encouraged children to explore their creativity and natural environment, especially when it involved getting dirty. Shellie loved words.  She was a prolific reader and always completed her crossword puzzles with a pen.

She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Dr. Sheldon H. Freid; sons Jordan Freid, Matthew Freid (Agnes Lut), and Dr. Ethan Freid; daughter Tobin Freid (Dr. Scott Schwartz); grandchildren Ivo Bourgeois, Aven Schwartz, and Siveya Schwartz; brother Laurence Burke (Janet O’Keeffe).

Donations may be made to the American Tortoise Rescue via www.tortoise.com