Fannie Grant Krevsky has served in many public roles in Harrisburg, including over two decades on the city’s school board, during her lifetime.
“She was very active in politics, with campaigns both on a local level and a national level," said Sanford Krevsky, Fannie’s son. "She was very active with the American Red Cross, she was a volunteer with the Johnstown flood and with the Dauphin County Library. So she’s been very active.”
In recognition of a long life of public and philanthropic service, the city’s top brass were among those who gathered to wish her a happy birthday as she turned 104 years old last week.
And as a traditional gathering wasn’t possible due to social distancing restrictions, Krevsky’s family and friends got a bit creative. Instead of visiting in person, the Harrisburg police helped to coordinate a parade of over 50 cars to drive past Krevsky’s Harrisburg home.
Harrisburg mayor Eric Papenfuse, Dauphin County judge John Cherry and Dauphin County commissioner Jeff Haste were among the officials who stopped by to wish Krevsky well, as were family friends Rabbi Elisha Friedman of Kesher Israel, attorney Corky Goldstein and television producer Carmen Finestra.
Sanford noted that the coronavirus isn’t his mother’s first pandemic - she was a child during the outbreak of the Spanish flu in 1918. He noted that she still had a passionate political mind, and that “she was at one point a very powerful political figure. And now for the people in the community to recognize that, even though he’s no longer in that position, is so respectful for my mother and such a compliment to her.”
“She spent her whole life in Harrisburg,” Sanford added. “She loves Harrisburg. She really does.”
Sanford gave a specific shout-out to the Harrisburg police who provided traffic direction for the dozens of vehicles that drove through to wish Fannie a happy day.
“She was absolutely overwhelmed by it, to be honest,” Sanford said. “She kept thanking people and saying, go home, I don’t want you to get rained on. It looks like it’s going to rain. But people were glad to be there, not that they were doing us a favor. They were glad to be included in the event. That was very touching to me.”