Frances Dinkelspiel Green
October 15, 1928 March 18, 2018
Frances Dinkelspiel Green, a fourth-generation Californian who broke a glass ceiling to become the first female president of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, died March 18 surrounded by her loving children and grandchildren. She was 89.
Franny, as she was widely known, was highly regarded for her leadership of many institutions in the Bay Area. In addition to serving as president of the Federation from 1975 to 1976, she served as president or on the board of the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Commission, Homewood Terrace, the Jewish Home for the Aged, the Hebrew Free Loan Association, Mt. Zion Hospital, Sinai Memorial Chapel, the Magnes Museum, the Golden Gate chapter of the American Red Cross, and United Bay Area Crusade.
So many organizations sought out Franny’s leadership because she brought a sharp intelligence and deep compassion to everything she did. She embraced all sorts of people and was a great humanitarian and philanthropist. Franny also had a wonderful sense of humor and her laugh could be heard across the room.
Franny was born into a well-known and influential family, which bestowed upon her a deep appreciation for her California roots. Her great-grandfather, Isaias Hellman, was a pioneer who came to California in 1859 with practically nothing and ended up as president Wells Fargo Bank. Her mother, Florence Hellman Dinkelspiel, served on the San Francisco School Board and her father, Lloyd Dinkelspiel, was a distinguished attorney who also served as chair of the Federation and the Stanford University Board of Trustees. Franny also had a brother, Lloyd Dinkelspiel, who died in 1976.
Franny grew up in San Francisco and particularly liked spending summers with her grandmother, Frances Hellman, at her summer home in Oakland with its vistas and large gardens. There the entire extended clan would gather from May to October. She married her husband, William H. Green, at Oakvale, in 1949.
Franny attended the Katherine Delmar Burke’s School for Girls and Stanford University. She had many decades-long friendships. Every week, she played bridge on the Peninsula with a cherished group of women.
Family was the center of Franny’s life. She enjoyed a 64-year-long marriage to Bill, who owned a number of eyeglass stores. He died in 2014. They had three wonderful children, Louise (Dick Marsh), David (Pat), and Florence (Steve Marchick). Franny had seven grandchildren: Allison, Stefanie, Kimberlee, Emily, Daniella, Katherine, and Michael, and six great grandchildren, with three more coming this summer.
Franny split her time between San Francisco and Atherton but had moved to Portland, Oregon a few years ago to be closer to her children.
Services will be at 2 p.m. March 22 at Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco. Donations in Franny’s honor can be made to the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living (aka Jewish Home), Congregation Emanu-El or American Red Cross.