ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-
An Albuquerque woman who worked to convey a message of respect as the co-founder of the New Mexico Holocaust and Intolerance Museum has died, her family said.
Frances Gellert’s husband, Werner Gellert, said his wife was battling cancer and died around midnight Thursday.
A funeral service for the 76-year-old woman was scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Congregation Albert in northeast Albuquerque. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park.
Werner Gellert said his wife often told people that they must respect one another.
“Her main theme was, ‘We are our brother’s keepers, if you like it or not, and you have to respect each other. You have to know each other’s culture. You cannot judge a person just by where they are coming from,'” he said.
Born in Denver, Frances “Frankie” Gellert attended the University of Denver, where she met her husband, a German Holocaust survivor.
“She had a mind of her own,” Werner Gellert said. “She was not a ‘yes’ person. At that time, many girls went to the university to meet a man. She did not.”
The Gellerts worked in the banking industry for years before retiring to Albuquerque about a decade and a half ago.
They loved the people and the climate, but the Gellerts noticed a lack of education about the Holocaust and “intolerance among the different cultural identities,” he said.
So the two co-founded the museum in 2001 and traveled to many places teaching others about intolerance, hate and self-respect.
The museum plans to create a memorial endowment fund in Frances Gellert’s name, which will be used to establish other exhibits.
Gellert is survived by her husband; her daughter, Julie Gellert-Ligon, and her husband, David, of New Jersey, and their son, Brandon Ligon; and a sister, Shirley of Denver.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal,
