Deceased September 10, 2014
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50th Reunion book entry
In Memory
Bill Friedlander succumbed to pancreatic cancer Sept. 10, 2014, at home with his family at his bedside. With great courage and determination, he maintained a lively and engaged life much longer than many would have predicted after the initial diagnosis. His Facebook page featured many happy pictures of Bill, often glass in hand, with friends, and children, and especially with his beloved wife Sue, right up to just weeks before his death. Named “A great Living Cincinnatian” in 1999 for his immense contributions in time and resources to the cultural life of the city, Bill, with Sue, led a landmark campaign raising $45 million for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The long list of institutions, organizations and causes to which he lent his leadership and generosity can be found in a fuller memorial on our class website. After Amherst, Bill served two years in the army, spent a year at Harvard Business School and returned to Cincinnati where his family has lived since his great-grandfather emigrated there in 1850. He followed his father into the investment firm Bartlett & Co. becoming CEO, and then chairman emeritus on his retirement. I remember Bill as a fellow lineman on our freshman football team, and an amiable and lively presence in our class. I had the great pleasure of a convivial dinner in his home high above the city he loved when Ann and I were in Cincinnati to attend a conference there, and had inspiring email conversations with him over the last five years. He had, as the Sue and Bill Friedlander CEO of the Cincinnati Ballet remarked, “a wonderful personality, charisma, charm, and keen wit.”
In addition to Sue, his sweetheart since high school, Bill is survived by two daughters, a son and five grandchildren.
Tom Blackburn ‘54
