Harriett Friedner, longtime Camden County Democratic Committee member and advocate for disability rights, dies at 90
Mrs. Friedner, an elected member of the Camden County Democratic Committee, fought for her son to attend public school after he was born with cerebral palsy.
Harriett Friedner, 90, of Cherry Hill, who was active in Camden County Democratic politics for 50 years, died Monday, July 20, at her son’s home after an illness.
Her last election to the Camden County Democratic Committee was in 2019 at age 88.
Lewis “Robbie“ Friedner said his mother had survived a number of illnesses over the years, including pancreatic cancer in 2001.
She began slowing down and losing weight in the last year, and slipped into a semi-comatose state eight days before her death, he said. An official cause of death had not yet been determined, said Bernie Platt of Platt Funeral Home.
In addition to her political work, Mrs. Friedner worked as an office manager for the county health department.
Years ago, when Lewis Friedner and his sister were younger, Mrs. Friedner worked part-time managing art shows so she would be home when her children got out of school. The fact that he went to public schools was a testament to her advocacy, because he was born with cerebral palsy in 1959.
“When I was diagnosed, it was not common to raise a child with CP at home. It was common to put them in an institution for the disabled,” Friedner, 64, said.
“If not for my mom, I would have been institutionalized,” he said. “If not for my mom, I would be dead.”
When a school principal did not want to enroll him, his mother insisted: “He is going to this school. It’s his right.”
Other children were sometimes cruel. But when a teacher put his desk and chair in a closet, away from the class, “my mom went ballistic,” he said. “My mom taught me to never say ‘can’t’ and to never give up, to always try no matter what it is you want to do.”
That’s why Friedner, who followed his mother into politics and serves on the county Democratic Committee, ran for the New Jersey Assembly in 1991. The New York Times featured his campaign in an article headlined “Cerebral Palsy Is No Bar to Candidate.”
Though he didn’t win, he said making the attempt “was a victory for me.”
“My mom was tough, but she was a lady,” he said. “She was superb. She was my best friend.”
Platt, a former Cherry Hill mayor, said he knew Mrs. Friedner for 40 years. “She was a wonderful and determined lady,” Platt said. “She did things the way they were supposed to be done.”
Mrs. Friedner was born in Atlantic City to Ida Weinstein and Morton Glick in 1930. She attended Temple University for two years and studied art history. She met her husband, Martyn J. Friedner, in Atlantic City through friends.
Mrs. Friedner’s husband and daughter, Sindy Lyn Green, preceded her in death. In addition to her son, she is survived by five grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and other relatives.
A graveside funeral service was held Wednesday, July 22.