Frieda Sion - a dearly loved and treasured wife, mother and grandmother, sister and daughter - passed away from acute leukemia on March 11th at home in the company of her children. She was 90.
Frieda was a caring, quiet and wise pillar of her family; a woman focused on seeing the essential goodness in life, which she reflected with bright and gentle warmth in her watercolor paintings; a humane soul who gave her time and energy to worthy causes in her community; a devoted friend; and a scrupulous homemaker devoted to cleanliness and orderliness, nutritious yet delicious cuisine, and practicing the commonsensical prudence of a Depression Era child who knew right and wrong and respected the value of a dollar.
She is survived by her daughter, Karen Sion-King, and son-in-law, Andrew King; son Michael; grandsons Daniel and Aaron Sion and Nickolas King; a sister, Rosalie Marcus; a brother, Robert Baronsky; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Alvin Sion.
Born Dec. 30, 1935, as the third of four children to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Edward and Sybil Baronsky, Frieda attended Garfield High School in her native Seattle and completed several years of college at the University of Washington before moving to San Francisco, where she met her husband-to-be. They returned to Seattle to raise a family. She became a working mother as a legal secretary at a time when most women didn't contemplate law school, even though she possessed the intellect to become a lawyer.
Frieda was involved with her congregation, Temple Beth Am, in Seattle, and Hadassah, and with her husband helped found the Homeless to Renter program as a partnership between Beth Am and the Jewish Family Service, to cover the move-in costs for homeless families who otherwise couldn't afford housing. After relocating to San Francisco in 2005, she and her husband were members of Or Shalom.
Frieda's long marriage was marked by steadfast dedication in all areas, including preparing sensibly healthy meals and engaging in regular walks that maintained her and her husband's health during an active life that often involved traveling. After Alvin incurred Alzheimer's, she cared for him around the clock; in his final days in hospice care, she slept on a cot to be beside him until his final breath.
A voracious reader, Frieda also was a strong Scrabble player. Taking up watercolor in her sixties, she excelled in the medium, sold a number of paintings and gave away many to family and friends who cherish them to this day for their gentle and joyful depictions of nature, and their humble capturing of the preciousness of life's simple moments.
Frieda was extremely close with her children and grandchildren. After the shock of her leukemia diagnosis in fall 2025, she committed her remaining time to carefully organizing her assets to make her passing easier for survivors, and to spending time with her loved ones. She coped as best as she could with her chronic fatigue to be as productive and social as possible each day - appreciating every moment of life, even exerting herself to take walks in the sunshine with her loved ones.
Frieda was laid to rest during a graveside service at Fernwood Cemetery, in Marin County, California. The family appreciates any donations in her memory be made to the charity of the donor's choice.