Barbara Hirsch of Richfield, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Barbara was born on March 13, 1949, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Flora and Arthur K. Hirsch. She attended Southwest High School, and received her undergraduate degree from Park College (now Park University) in Parkville, Missouri. She earned a master’s degree in art therapy from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. She then lived and worked in Aberdeen, South Dakota, before relocating to the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area and continuing her career with Zumbro Valley Mental Health in Red Wing, Minnesota, then with Park Nicollet in Minneapolis, and later, her own individual and family-therapy practice.
Barbara was an avid gardener and talented artist. She enjoyed exploring creative outlets with her “art sisters” and with her husband, Joel Abramson. She loved camping and traveling to warm and/or coastal beaches, Southwest deserts and more northern shores, such as Grand Marais, Minnesota. She relished experiencing the culinary and cultural outlets that the Twin Cities had to offer until health issues interfered.
Barb was preceded in death by her parents and her foster son, Chuck Koen. She is survived by her husband, Joel Abramson, of Minneapolis; her niece, Arona Mostov, of New York City; her sisters, Roselyn Hirsch of New York City and Deborah Hirsch (Stan Stern) of Mission, Kansas; and many close cousins and dear friends.
A funeral was held on Aug. 8 at the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Habitat for Humanity or Rabbi Tamar’s Tzedakah Fund at Beth Jacob Congregation (beth-jacob.org).
