The youngest of six children, she was born Dec. 3, 1912, in Philadelphia to Harry and Devora Lomas, Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. Her father was a master tailor who moved his family to Los Angeles when she was 8.
She considered medicine as a career but fainted and broke her nose while observing a brother perform surgery, so she made other plans, said Dona Munker, her only child.
"Somebody told her that by going into social work, you could help people even if you weren't treating their bodies," her daughter said.
At USC, Feldman ran a laundry service to pay tuition and received a bachelor's degree in 1935. She earned a master's degree in social work from the university in 1940.
In 1935, she married Albert G. Feldman, who was so captivated by the stories she told about her job as a social worker for the state that he left behind his work as a research chemist and followed her into the profession. He became deputy director of the USC Andrus Gerontology Center and died in 1975.
In the late 1960s, officials in Alaska asked Feldman to research the social service needs of the state's native people, and her observations led to many improvements in basic services, according to USC.
In Alaska, Feldman -- then in her 50s -- rode on dog sleds and slept in igloos as she traveled to isolated Eskimo villages. The experience made the "natural optimist" want "to know how the rest of the world lived," her daughter said. Feldman ended up traveling to more than 200 countries.
Although she retired in 1982, Feldman stayed involved with USC and drove twice a week to the school from her home in Pasadena.
For her 95th birthday, she renewed her driver's license and received a perfect score on her test, said her daughter, her only immediate survivor.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, 6001 W. Centinela Ave., Culver City.
Memorial donations may be made to the Albert G. and Frances L. Feldman Fund for graduate scholarships at the USC School of Social Work, Montgomery Ross Fisher Building, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411.
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valerie.nelson@latimes.com
