EULOGY FOR DARLENE FRIEDMAN

From waif to the American success story, that was the life of Darlene Foreman, Hayes Upchurch, Friedman, who died March 28, 2021 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Born June 9, 1949 in Glendale to Charles and Ruth Foreman, her parents divorced when she was about three years of age. Her mother would soon marry a veterinarian, Hayes and Charles, Darlene’s father, consented to Darlene’s adoption by Dr. Hayes and her mother. They moved to rural Alabama (Talladega) where Darlene completed high school and from which, she obtained excellent grades.

Darlene went on to earn her nursing degree and at the same time, managing a 200 bed hospital. During this period from the late 70s to the early 80s, Darlene went to nurse anesthesia school and became a CRNA, the functional equivalent of an M.D.-Anesthesiologist.
In 1970, Darlene had been married to David Upchurch. They had a son, Jason, who is now a successful businessman in South Carolina.
Again, in the early 80s, Darlene was offered a job as a CRNA with the Permanente Medical Group here in Los Angeles. She and her friend Allison McClure, M.D., an anesthesiologist, moved to California where she had the job with Kaiser Permanente, as it is commonly known.

Within a year, she was offered a position as a CRNA with plastic and reconstructive surgeons. She jumped at the opportunity and made a small fortune working for independent surgeons. She invested wisely and died with a substantial estate.

In 1984, Darlene met Nate Friedman at a Los Angeles World Affairs Council dinner for the Dalai Lama! They hit it off at once and in 1994 were married. However, in 2001 they divorced

In 2001, Darlene also retired from medicine, in which she had spent some 30 years quite successfully, so as to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She traveled extensively for the next 10 + years.
In 2010, Jason married Melissa Lewis from Oxford. They have two wonderful children, Bailey and Grayson. Darlene was a beloved Nana D. She took many vacations with the grandkids and enjoyed spoiling them.
In 2011, Nate and Darlene got back together. What made them click the second time around was the fact Darlene had her own condominium in Century City and Nate had his home in Beverly Hills.

In the last decade of her life, Darlene enjoyed going out to dinner which was cut off by the pandemic. From that point onward, March 2020, until the end of her life, she “sheltered in place” without venturing out from the condominium.

She wanted to be buried in a drawer, not the ground. Nate accommodated her. As such, she is being buried in a drawer in this beautiful Mount Sinai Memorial Park in true Ruth (“Your people shall be my people”) fashion.

In sum, Darlene’s life was one well lived. Rest in peace, dear Darlene.