Dr. Irwin Fridovich

DURHAM- Dr. Irwin Fridovich, 90, passed away Saturday, November 2, 2019.
Dr. Fridovich was born on August 2, 1929 to Louis and Sylvia Fridovich in Brooklyn, NY. After attending the Bronx High School of Science and the prestigious City College of New York, Dr. Fridovich met and married Mollie Finkel. Together, they moved down to Durham, NC, in 1951, where Dr. Fridovich completed his PhD in Biochemistry at Duke Medical Center. He was invited to remain as a faculty member, and had a long and distinguished career, including becoming a James B. Duke Distinguished Professor. He published ~400 scientific articles, and discovered superoxide dismutase, essentially founding the field of Free Radical Biology. He served as president of several professional societies, and earned several lifetime achievement awards. Despite his many accolades, Dr. Fridovich was a devoted family man. He never missed a dinner with his wife and two daughters, and always loved to spend weekends with the family, cutting and splitting firewood for his wood stove, tending his ‘blueberry patch’ on ‘the land’, hiking in Duke forest in cool weather, canoeing in the summertime. He continued to go to Duke every weekday until about four months prior to his death, to read the latest scientific journals, and especially to enjoy lunch with his best friend, Raj, and his colleagues at Bullocks weekly. Dr. Fridovich will be deeply missed by his friends and family.
Dr. Fridovich was preceded in death by his parents (Louis and Sylvia); wife of 59 years, Mollie Fridovich; and brother, Bernard Fridovich. He is survived by his daughters, Sharon F. Freedman (Neil), and Judith L. Fridovich-Keil (Mark); brother, David Fridovich (Miriam); grandchildren, Benjamin Freedman, Rebecca Neustein (Thomas) and their children, Judah and Ariella, David Fridovich-Keil, and Sara Fridovich-Keil; and numerous loving family members.
A graveside service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at Durham Hebrew Cemetery. Officiating will be Rabbi Daniel Greyber.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Beth El Synagogue at 1004 Watts Street, Durham NC 27701 or the Triangle Nature Conservancy at 514 S. Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701 (Attn: Christine Wilson).