Bernice Friedland Obituary

Bernice Friedland, a longtime Western Maryland civic leader and champion of women's rights, died peacefully in her beloved Cumberland home on October 11, 2025. She was 12 days shy of her 100th birthday.
Friedland leaves a legacy of community involvement, philanthropy, and a remarkable list of accomplishments that include being one of the first women to chair the Allegany College of Maryland Board of Trustees, earning a master's degree in her '70s, and achieving the coveted "Life Master" status as a bridge player. She was also a world traveler and an avid shell collector.
"Bernice was a true inspiration," said David R. Jones, president of Allegany College of Maryland, who has known Friedland since he arrived at the college in 1996 as an administrator. Jones noted that as a member of the college's board of trustees and later it's chair, Friedland "led with integrity, vision, and a core value of equality for everybody." In an era when strong women leaders were less common than they are today, Jones said Friedland handled gender and other issues with "grace and persistence."
"She didn't beat around the bush," said Daryl Smith, former director of development for the Allegany Museum in Cumberland, speaking of Friedland's determined personality and her penchant for forcefully expressing her opinion. "We hit it off right away."
Like Jones, Smith became close friends with Friedland and her late husband, Arthur, and recalled many pleasant visits to the Friedland's Cumberland home, which was filled with artwork and artifacts from their international travels and thousands of shells from Friedland's winter beachcombing forays in Marco Island, Florida.
A longtime advocate for the museum, in 2019 Friedland made at the time the largest single donation to the organization, and a room in the restored neoclassical revival building was dedicated as the Arthur and Bernice Friedland Grand Courtroom.
Friedland's philanthropy was not limited to the museum. In 1997, she and her husband established the Bernice and Arthur Friedland Scholarship at Allegany College so deserving county students could receive help with tuition. Since its inception, Jones said, "there has never been a year without the award, and because it's endowed, it will continue in perpetuity."
Friedland's giving also supported the seasonal Music at Penn Alps concert series in Grantsville, Md., and a number of music programs at Frostburg State University, where she earned a master's degree in 1997 in modern humanities at the age of 72.
Friedland was also a founding member of the Allegany College of Maryland Foundation, an organization established in 1982 whose mission was to raise funds for Allegany College. Jones remembered a campaign in 1997 called "Opening the Door to Opportunity" that set a goal to raise $1.3 million. "When others said there was no way to raise that amount, Friedland said not only they could but they would. And they exceeded the goal and raised $1.7 million. She was firm that this community could come together to support education."
In addition to her lifelong emphasis on learning, Friedland was passionate about women's rights. She was a founding member of the Allegany County Commission for Women, helped establish the Allegany County Women's Refuge, and was a member of the county's Child Abuse Task Force. She was a past president of the American Association of University Women and also served on the Maryland State Commission for Women and chaired its Hall of Fame program.
In 2017, Friedland received special recognition from Allegany College for her "tireless dedication to women's issues, her passion to serve the community, and her lifelong contributions to education." She was also recognized for her long service on the board of trustees, from 1984 to 1998, as well as her fundraising efforts, which were ongoing.
In a 2024 video posted online to help raise funds for the college during National Giving Day, 98-year-old Friedland said, "I am very pleased to be associated with Allegany College of Maryland," and went on to encourage people to donate to the college.
Often described by friends and colleagues as a force of nature, Friedland's enthusiasm and commitment to her community seemed inexhaustible. She founded the county's Adult Literacy Council, where she also tutored, and served on the board of the Allegany County Library. She was also a member of the Maryland Humanities Council and served on its board from 1987 to 1993.
Friedland was active in her synagogue, B'er Chayim Temple, and in 1986 was the first woman to serve as temple president. In 2001, at the age of 76, she celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at the temple alongside her cousin, Bernice "Beshie" Mandell. When she was young, that rite of passage in the Jewish community was only available to boys.
Born on October 23, 1925, in Manheim, Pa., Bernice Alpert moved to Cumberland in 1942 to take a teaching job at Fort Hill High School. The 19-year-old had graduated from Penn State University in three years, in part to help fill a teacher shortage brought about by World War II. Because she had also skipped a grade in elementary school, Friedland was only slightly older than her 12th-grade English students.
Friedland maintained a relationship with many of her former students, whom she called "her kids," and well into her '90s joined them for summer picnics at Constitution Park. She recalled failing only one student during her teaching years, a young man who apparently did not appreciate the value of education, or correct spelling. Before walking out of her class in frustration, the student left a note on Friedland's desk that said, "I quilt."
In 1946, she and Arthur married and the two went on to open a successful children's clothing store, Tots to Teens, which they operated on North Centre Street in Cumberland for more than three decades. By the time they retired in 1989, the couple had clothed several generations of children across the tristate area and become pillars of the business community.
"She was a classy lady," said Mike Armiento, one of Friedland's regular bridge partners through the years, "and a very bold bridge player. She was not afraid to take risks."
Because Armiento was more than 30 years younger than Friedland and her bridge-playing contemporaries, he is the only one left of that group. He remembered Friedland as "personable and friendly with everybody," but she was not to be trifled with at the bridge table.
He once partnered with her at a tournament and they were matched against a young, arrogant player who made a rude remark to Friedland after she had made a particularly bold bid.
To Armiento's delight, Friedland "let him know that she didn't appreciate the comments he was making. Let's just say she didn't back down," he said. "The guy was a good player, but he shut up for the rest of the session. She put him in his place."
Friedland earned her Life Master designation in 2006. In those days, before online play, Life Master status was earned by competing and winning tournaments against players face to face. That required travel to tournaments and years of playing, sometimes in smoky rooms against competitors who could be ill-mannered.
"You're not going to become a life master unless you can play," said Armiento, adding, "you have to go to tournaments, and you have to play against good players. And you have to win. Bernice was an excellent bridge player."
Friedland was whip-smart and rarely indecisive. She had an uncanny knack for getting what she wanted, as if she understood how to bend the universe to do her bidding. And so it was she was able to get her final wish: with the help of family and a wonderful group of caregivers, she was able to stay in the home she loved until the end.
"Bernice got what she wanted," said Bill Hoyle, a neighbor and close friend who was part of an incredible Cumberland community that helped Friedland in a thousand ways large and small to be able to age in place. "When Bernice told you to do something," Hoyle said, "you did it."
Friedland is survived by her three children, Lynn Magid Lazar and husband Dale, Pittsburgh; Stephen A. Friedland and wife Roberta, Columbia, SC; and Bruce Friedland and wife Marie, Annapolis, MD; grandchildren Jessica Magid and husband Juan Garces, Jeffrey Friedland and wife Rachel, Aaron Magid and wife Sage Briscoe, David Friedland and wife Stefanie, Ethan Magid, Carolyn (Friedland) Wahl and husband James, Molly Friedland and husband Caleb Hawkins, step-grandson Brent Lazar and partner Sharifa Anderson; great-grandchildren Alison, Adar, Trevor, Isaac, Aria, Julia, Ward, Graham and June; and step-great-grandchildren Asher and Aiden.
Friends will be received at the B'er Chayim Temple, 107 W. Union St., Cumberland, on Friday, October 17, 2025, from 10-11 a.m. Funeral services will be conducted at the temple at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Eastview Cemetery.
The family has requested that friends and family refrain from sending flowers. Those who wish to honor Friedland's memory may do so by making contributions to the Allegany County Library, 31 Washington St., Cumberland, MD, 21502, or to the library at Allegany College of Maryland, 12401 Willowbrook Road, Cumberland, MD, 21502. Contributions can also be made to B'er Chayim Temple, 107 W. Union St., Cumberland, MD, 21502.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Bernice Friedland, please visit our floral store.