Title:In Memory of Josephine Friedman Ammerman
Josephine Friedman Ammerman, Washington, D.C. native, Hoya parent and longtime Georgetown supporter, died November 7. She was 102.
Mrs. Ammerman (Parent’72) shared her life’s passions through decades of philanthropy with her family. Along with her late husband, H. Max Ammerman (C’27, L’32, Parent’72) and surviving son Andrew (F’72), Mrs. Ammerman was committed to supporting Georgetown’s Jewish Chaplaincy, scholarships, and performing arts and interfaith programs for many years.
The youngest of eight girls, Josephine Friedman was born in northwest D.C. near the site of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Her father worked as a printer and an engraver, and her mother was a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s Sisterhood. After graduating from Temple Business School, she worked as a secretary at the Department of the Interior and later as an editor for the 1932 George Washington Bicentennial Commission.
In 1936, she married H. Max Ammerman, a Georgetown Law School graduate who went on to develop some of the area’s first shopping malls.
The Stephen C. and H. Max Memorial GU & NHS Scholarships were first established in 1972 in honor of their son Stephen, who was killed in Thailand that same year. The scholarship was later renamed to include a tribute to Max who passed away in 1988. The resulting scholarship funds have gone on to benefit hundreds of undergraduate students who have demonstrated financial need for Georgetown scholarship aid.
In 2004, Mrs. Ammerman and family created the Distinguished Chaplaincy Fund for Interreligious Dialogue in honor of Rabbi Harold S. White, longtime family friend and the first Jewish Chaplain hired by a Catholic/Jesuit institution. The gift continues to support interreligious initiatives within the Office of Mission and Ministry and the Harold White Chair in Jewish Civilization.
In 2010, Andrew Ammerman made a gift, along with his mother, to establish the Georgetown University/Arena Stage/Ammerman Family Partnership. This year, the Ammerman family made yet another generous contribution that will allow the partnership to continue through 2017.
Mrs. Ammerman is survived by her son, Andrew Ammerman and many other family members and friends who were touched by her gracious spirit.