Remembering Rose
Dr. Rose D. Friedman, 1910-2009 On the morning of August 18, 2009, Rose Director Friedman passed away from heart failure. To say she is missed by her family, friends, and the Foundation she founded is an understatement at best.
Those of us who were blessed with the opportunity to meet Rose understand why she was the only one to ever win an argument with Milton Friedman.
Her quick and incisive wit, along with her intellect, humor, and passion helped her successfully bridge the worlds of academia with her career as a devoted wife of 68 years, mother and grandparent.
When combined with the intellect and vision of her late husband and lifelong professional partner, Milton Friedman, the two were simply unstoppable.
Like Milton, Rose Friedman will be remembered both as a trained economist and lover of liberty. Her work – especially in the 1980s – helped shape and guide the modern free-market movement. In her own unique way, she stood firmly for individual choice and firmly against government control.
Rose Friedman also understood the essential connection between education and the future of our country. If children aren’t educated then our freedom is at risk. As she said, “If you end up with a population that doesn’t know how to read, doesn’t know how to write, knows nothing about history, knows nothing about geography, who’s going to conduct the affairs of the country?”
This passion for education is what led her and Milton to establish a Foundation that bore their name and that was unlike any other in the country. Together they worked tirelessly to advance a system of K-12 education where every parent, regardless of race, origin or family income, was free to choose a learning environment that was best for their child.
When Rose and Milton were still alive they described themselves as two lucky people. This nation was lucky they were around for so long and could surely use a good dose of Rose Friedman’s wisdom in the next 98 years.
We know that our work and their vision will continue. The Foundation is dedicated to carrying on the passion of our Founders and committed to winning the argument for school choice.
Statements from Friends and Media on the Life of Rose D. Friedman
CBS News
"Rose and Milton’s legacy can be found in the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, which they founded to end the public school monopoly by advocating school choice. Its argument: 'Studies show that school choice leads to better test scores for all students and higher graduation rates. They show that parents are more satisfied and involved with their child’s school, and that school choice saves taxpayers millions of dollars. And they show that public schools respond positively to competition.'”
Wall Street Journal Editorial, August 20, 2009
"It is said that Rose was the only one who ever won a debate with Milton. Once in a discussion on tax policy between Milton and economist Arthur Laffer, she intervened and admonished them: 'I think we should cut tax rates way below the revenue maximizing rate.' We asked her not long ago if she thought the recent economic troubles and revival of statist policies was a repudiation of Milton’s legacy. 'Oh heavens no,' she said. 'Milton’s ideas are timeless.' So are hers."
Lynn Harsh, Evergreen Freedom Foundation
"To meet her was to come face-to-face with a diminutive person with a giant intellect, good humor and eyes that sparked with passion. Rose joined with her husband in their pursuit of reforming public education so all children, regardless of background, would have excellent educational opportunities. That’s how we met Milton and Rose Friedman. They stood with us as we fought to weaken the union’s control over education and put education decisions back in the hands of parents and teachers."
Steve Bettison, Adam Smith Institute
"The wife of Milton Friedman, she co-authored many publications with him, most notably Free To Choose in 1980, which was followed by a successful TV Series on PBS. She and her husband were champions of free-market economics and liberty, highlighting how intrusive government held back progress and hampered human development. Advocates of choice, they supported voucher schemes in education establishing the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice in 1996 to further promote this idea. She will be as sorely missed as her husband of 68 years is."
Dan Lips, The Heritage Foundation
"One important idea championed by the Friedmans was giving families the freedom to choose the best school for their children. An idea the couple first proposed in 1955, it now benefits millions of children. In 1996, they created the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice in Indianapolis to educate the public about the need to improve education in the United States and to promote awareness of school choice as a promising solution. Heritage, among many other organizations, was inspired by the effort."
Ben Stein, American Spectator
"Mrs. Friedman was startlingly smart… Outspoken without ever being rude, patient but unyielding in her love of individual freedom and dignity. Milton could not have been Milton without Rose. The modern uber-rude woman powerhouses of today could learn much from her. In her later years, she was the guiding light of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, which works tirelessly to improve education by giving students choice in where they attend school. It is a far better deal than Barack Obama gives kids. Mrs. Friedman was a hero of liberty and freedom. She will be missed."
William Reynolds, Arlington Virginia parent
"I’m saddened today to hear of the news of Mrs. Friedman’s passing. She and Milton are personal heroes of mine. I’m an African-American father of four and my community is in desperate need of the Friedman’s economic principles. My wife and I had to move out of Washington, D.C., to Arlington,Virginia in search of better schools."
Michael Walker, President, The Fraser Institute Foundation
"What a wonderful gift to the world was Rose Friedman. What a source of strength, courage, and inspiration to us all."
Editorial, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"Tuesday’s death of Rose Friedman, 98, is a lamentable loss not just for economics but for America and the world. The wife of 1976 economics Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman, she was indispensable to their romantic, intellectual and public policy partnership, which championed personal freedom and challenged conventional wisdom. She said he always made her feel 'that his achievement is my achievement.' And what achievements they were!"
Edward John Craig, National Review Online
"She was a whip-smart and unfailingly kind lady who lived a long, productive, and principled life. She will be missed."
The Chicago Blog, University of Chicago Press
"Rose Friedman exemplified the notion that behind every great man is a great woman. May her legacy live on—and flourish—along with her husband’s."
Joseph Bast, President, Heartland Institute
"The passing of Rose Director Friedman is another turning of the page on what was a golden era of discovery and application of free-market ideas. When she and Milton first began writing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was no libertarian movement, and few principled conservatives. Together, they made classical liberalism—libertarianism—an exciting intellectual project as well as a social and political movement that could actually improve lives."
Karla Dial, former Managing Editor, School Reform News
"Rose left a lasting impression on me as a strong, brilliant woman who was equally capable of taking the spotlight or stepping aside to let her husband shine, and knew intuitively when to do both. I’m sure as the accolades roll in, we will hear from many who will remember her as a genius economist and passionate lover of liberty. And she was definitely that. But in the short time I spent with her, I saw a wonderful, modern example of a woman who knew how to complement her husband without being lost in his shadow, who seemed to be made of equal parts velvet and steel. She was a great lady, in every sense of the word."
