Mia Forscher
July 27, 2023

MIA FORSCHER: Passed away peacefully on July 27, 2023. She is survived by her loving daughters Carri Fogel (Stew), Joan Forscher (Gerry Ramage), and Stefanie Behrend (Bernie); her grandchildren Ali, Janie, Mike, Amanda, Mark, Dan, Margot and Vanessa; and great grandchildren Spencer, Alex, Harrison, Natalie, JJ, Gideon, Fox, Zoe, Max, Amy, Maya, Claire, and Jacob. She will be missed by her sister-in-law Sylvia, and by many nieces, nephews and cousins around the world. Until the last few years of Covid isolation, she remembered and kept in touch with them all, as the beloved matriarch of the family.

Mia lived in Squirrel Hill and then Oakland, before moving into Weinberg Terrace in 2018. She retired from the Condo Office of Howard Hanna Real Estate at age 89. Always friendly, kind, and perpetually optimistic, she welcomed into her large circle of friends many of her clients who were newcomers to Pittsburgh  - which she relentlessly championed. 

Mia was born in 1922 in Heidelberg, Germany, to parents Max and Clara Weiner. In 1933, along with her parents and siblings Anne and Manfred, who all predeceased her, she fled the rising antisemitism in Germany, including the boycott of Jewish businesses which had cut the family's income in half. After a brief stay in New York City, a resettlement agency found a job for Max at Kaufmann's Department Store, and the family moved to Squirrel Hill, where Mia's twin brother became a Bar Mitzvah at Beth Shalom.

But longing to rejoin their large extended family in New York, after only a few years they left Pittsburgh for the German-Jewish Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. There Mia joined a Zionist youth group, solidifying her life-long love of Israel. After earning a sociology degree at Hunter College, she worked for HIAS, settling Holocaust refugees.

Viennese immigrant Fred Forscher, her beloved husband of more than 50 years, passed away in 1996. In 1944 they got married while he was on leave from the US Army. For a while they lived in Princeton, where Fred finished a bachelor's degree in engineering that he'd started under the auspices of the Army, and then completed a master's there. Later he earned his PhD at Columbia in NYC. 

When Fred took a job at Westinghouse, Mia, now the mother of two daughters, reluctantly left all of her family and moved back to the Pittsburgh area. After a few years in the South Hills they settled in Squirrel Hill, where Mia had her third daughter and where her life as a volunteer, especially for Hadassah and Technion, took off. In Squirrel Hill Mia's many life-long friendships were established, as evidenced by the popularity of Fred and Mia's annual New Years Day party.

When her children started leaving the house, Mia earned an MA degree in Counseling at Duquesne University, which she put to good use in her real estate career. As empty-nesters Mia and Fred traveled abroad, especially to Israel. And wherever in the world they went, they would encounter friends and relatives, often unexpectedly. In later years she enjoyed seeing family and old friends during reunions the City of Heidelberg hosted every few years for their former Jewish residents and their descendants. During her last visit to Heidelberg, she spoke on the TV news about the frightening resurgence of the language and symbols of hate in the US, that reminded her of what she'd witnessed during her childhood in Germany.

Mia's cheerful friendliness defined her life of almost 101 years, touching all who knew her, including her loving caregivers in her last few years.

Services at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Inc., 5509 Centre Avenue, Shadyside on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 11 AM. Visitation one hour prior to services, (10 - 11 AM). Interment Beth Shalom Cemetery. Donations in Mia's memory may be made to JFCS Pittsburgh, 5743 Bartlett Street,  Pittsburgh, PA 15217, or online at JFCSPGH.org, or to a charity of your choice. www.schugar.com

Condolences

Dear Forscher Family, Sending sincere condolences on the loss of your mother. I really got to know Mia through her involvement in our Israel Bonds campaign. We always engaged in discussions of what all of you were doing & I really enjoyed our conversations. May her memory always be for a blessing.

Joan, I am sorry for your loss. May your mom be a blessing in your life. Gary

I am so sorry for your loss. May Mia\'s memory always be for a blessing.

So sorry for your deep loss.

Mia,was a lovely lady and had the biggest smile. I would enjoy working with her in real estate and could depend on a pleasant experience for everyone. She will always be remembered in the community for her thoughtfulness and sweet personality, May all of you enjoy peace and comfort as you recall your wonderful memories of Mia,and all the years you were together, With sympathy, Linda Melada

I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to the Forscher family on the passing of Mia. I knew her husband, Fred, when we worked at NUMEC. We sat together at a B'nai B'rith dinner at the B'nai Israel Synagogue many years ago.