OTTAWA (JTA) — Terry Schwarzfeld, the national president of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO who was beaten while vacationing in Barbados, died of her injuries.
Schwarzfeld, 60, suffered massive brain injuries Feb. 28 when a would-be robber attacked her and her daughter-in-law, Luana Cotsman, while they walked along a secluded beach on the tropical island. She died Thursday in Ottawa.
Both women were knocked unconscious, but Cotsman recovered at the scene. Schwarzfeld was taken to a local hospital and later airlifted to Ottawa, where she spent two weeks in a coma.
Schwarzfeld became Canadian Hadassah-WIZO 20th national president last November. On its Web site, the organization says it has already unveiled the Terry Schwarzfeld Ottawa Day Care Centre in Israel.
Barbados Police recently announced a reward of $6,400 for information leading to an arrest in the attack.
Schwarzfeld was a longtime local volunteer and worked as executive director of one of Ottawa’s largest synagogues, Agudath Israel Congregation.
Her funeral is scheduled for Friday.
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