Rose Fekete z'l
Rose was born in Amsterdam in 1947, the youngest child to Marianne and Dr David van der Poorten. She arrived in Sydney in April 1951 aged 3, when her parents, Holocaust survivors, decided to create a new life leaving the horrific memories of the war behind.
Rose married Robbie in 1969 aged 21, Their first daughter Yvette was born in 1972, a short 15 months later came Tiffany, followed by Anita in 1976. It was a busy, joyful household. She was a devoted mother and she saw her role at home looking after the girls. Nonetheless, she still found time for Bellevue Hill Public School, winning a major grant for the school, eventually, returning to full-time work in 1978.
An amazing pre-school teacher, she became a Director very early in her career, working at Newtown, Kings Cross, Wentworth Park and Waterloo.
Eventually, she went to Moriah School in 1988 and was in charge of 3 kindergartens and soon added a 4th at Randwick. She was so proud to have pioneered a programme that brought together the young and old at Montefiore Randwick – something she continued to foster well after retirement.
Rose retired, but still didn’t stop. She was still involved with WIZO, Sparks, Camp Sababa, Respite Care for disabled adults, and the RH/YK crèche facilities at Central Synagogue. Of course, WIZO was in her blood thanks to her mother Marianne who was an active leader until her passing at the amazing age of 103.
Rose was not only a dedicated member of her own group Ayelet, her pride and joy but also supported the other groups as well. She worked tirelessly to raise funds for WIZO at every opportunity, while ensuring that her mother was deservedly front and centre for any accolades.
Rose Fekete was a passionate member of WIZO NSW for 50 years. Everyone was drawn to her friendly smile and caring nature, her passionate love of WIZO‘s work was well known. Despite her many interests and communal involvement, she was always a WIZO woman. A true Eshet Chayil.
Rose was a member of the WIZO NSW Executive since 1979 in many portfolios and she was Vice-President of WIZO NSW. She was Deputy President and Organisation Chairperson of WIZO Australia from 1998 to 2004. Rose attended the Aviv Seminar in 1979 and the Poland to Israel special Aviv Seminar in 1989 which had a marked impression on her.
She devoted herself to her portfolio of WIZO Education and was well known to the younger children in our community. Organising WIZO Shabbat widened her duties. She co-ordinated WIZO Awareness week- the aim of which was to spread the word of WIZO through the schools and shules. She was held in high esteem with a strong relationship with the Rabbis and School Directors. She was instrumental in organising the visits of many IST children to WIZO projects.
Rose was the recipient of many WIZO awards, the Denny Govender Award which was given to Rose for her spirit, enthusiasm, vision and active participation in WIZO, and the Rebecca Sieff Award which is the highest accolade awarded to WIZO members around the world. It is presented to acknowledge outstanding service to WIZO. Rose was also an Honorary Life Member of WIZO Australia
In 2005 Rose met Frank Marks, there was an instant connection and they married soon after. It was a new chapter in her life, her world opened up and together they just loved life, socialising, travelling to exotic places and never sitting still for even a moment.
Rose always maintained that her three greatest passions in life were her family and WIZO and her work. Rose passed away suddenly in October 2019. May her memory be a blessing.