Fanny Kraus Partow

Fanny Kraus Partow, beloved wife of the late Nemat Partow, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died peacefully on August 13, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, surrounded by her family. She was 92. Fanny was born in France on October 3, 1933, the daughter of Rosa and Gustav Kraus. She grew up with her parents and two sisters in a small house outside Paris. Her mother was born in Warsaw, Poland, and her father was born in Czechoslovakia to a family with roots in Moravia.

Fanny's childhood was profoundly shaped by World War II and the German occupation of France. As the persecution of Jews intensified, her mother made the agonizing decision to separate the family in order to save her children. Fanny and her sisters were sent into hiding, at times separated from one another, and  Fanny spent portions of the war in children's homes in the south of France, where she was forced to conceal her Jewish identity. She endured hunger, fear, displacement and long periods of separation from her parents, never knowing when she would see them again. Remarkably, Fanny's immediate family survived, and they were reunited after the liberation of France. Those childhood experiences left an enduring mark on Fanny, but they did not define the life she went on to build. She possessed extraordinary resilience, independence and quiet strength, qualities that remained with her throughout her life.

At 21, Fanny met the man who would become her husband, an Iranian 15 years her senior. They married in 1956 and welcomed their daughter, Isabelle, that same year. Nine years later, in 1965, their son, Felix, was born. Fanny and Nemat shared 50 years of marriage, until his death in Bronxville, New York, in 2006 at the age of 88. Several years after their marriage, they left France for Iran, an adventurous and uncommon step for a young French woman at the time. They made their home there for 17 years, raising their two children while Fanny built a career with Air France. Her work gave the family the opportunity to travel extensively, introducing her children to countries and cultures around the world and instilling in them a lifelong love of travel and discovery. In 1977, at the age of 44, Fanny and her family immigrated to the United States. Starting over in a new country was not easy, but Fanny persevered. She continued working for more than three decades and remained remarkably independent well into her later years. She was deeply devoted to her husband, caring for him through his later years with constancy and tenderness.

Fanny was known above all for her kindness and her fierce devotion to her family. She was a deeply caring mother and a loving grandmother and great-grandmother. She worried over the smallest cough, remembered what mattered to those she loved and expressed her affection through the countless gestures of everyday life.

Petite, blonde and green-eyed, Fanny was known for her striking beauty and sense of style. She took great care in how she dressed and carried herself with a natural elegance throughout her life. She also had a beautiful singing voice. As a young woman in France, she was offered the opportunity to make a record, a path her mother ultimately decided she should not pursue. Many decades later, Fanny's voice provided one of her family's most treasured memories when she sang Édith Piaf's “La Vie en Rose” at her granddaughter's wedding.Fanny remained curious, engaged and spirited throughout her later years. She performed in musicals at her senior residence, led a French conversation class and remained an avid reader. She followed politics closely and took a keen interest in the world around her. Her love of language, music, ideas and conversation stayed with her throughout her life.

She leaves her family not only with memories of a life spanning France, Iran and America, but with an enduring example of courage, resilience and love. Fanny is survived by her daughter, Isabelle (Jeremy) Tennenbaum; her son, Felix (Alexandra) Partow; four grandchildren, Rachel Tennenbaum, Rebecca Tennenbaum (Evan Silverstein), Charlotte (Michael) Broukhim and Sophia Partow; and four great-grandchildren, Rose, Asher and Rafael Broukhim and Romy Silverstein. 

Funeral services will be held on Sunday August 16 at 11am at Mount Hope Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson in New York. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions in Fanny's memory be made to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C..

May her memory be a blessing.