Frederica Kolker Saxon would tell her daughter-in-law that “you can do everything you want, just not all at one time.”

She had the résumé to back it up. She was a dutiful community volunteer who took on leadership roles at The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Jewish College Services of Baltimore and the boards of St. John’s College in Annapolis and what was then Loyola College in Baltimore. She was a claims adjuster and political activist who later transitioned into construction management. She was the first female chair of the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce and mentored other women.

And when she wasn’t doing all of that, she was either traveling the world or spending time with her family (or both at the same time). She was “someone who displayed tremendous resilience in overcoming adversity and creating a life she was proud of,” said her son, Michael Saxon.

Saxon, known as “Freddie” everywhere except legal documents, died March 7 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91.

Born March 3, 1933, in Baltimore, Saxon was the oldest child of Rosa Jacobson Kolker and Irving Mason Kolker, who owned a lumber company. She had a younger brother, Jonathan, whom she teased as only a big sister could. One of her family’s favorite videos shows Saxon, probably about age 3, smacking her little brother over the head with a balloon.

When she was 11, her family moved to Baltimore County. She was a happy child who enjoyed and excelled at academics, her son said, and she was especially close with her mom. After Saxon went off to Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, she’d send her mother letters detailing the classes she loved and her busy social calendar.

She graduated in 1954 with a degree in political science, her son said. Later in life, she became a passionate advocate for liberal arts education, and Michael Saxon believes that stems from her own college experience.

She studied politics at the height of the Red Scare, a period of social and political hysteria over the perceived threat of communism. Saxon and other students opposed the political persecution, and she represented Bryn Mawr at the 1951 Congress of the U.S. National Student Association at the University of Minnesota.

Michael Saxon isn’t sure exactly why politics captivated his mother so, but “she paid attention to everything throughout her life,” he said. “She was a serious person in that regard and was interested in what was happening in the world.”

After graduation, she started working as a claims adjuster at the Social Security Administration and volunteered for a U.S. Senate campaign. During this time, she fell in love with Jack Grossman, a Baltimore attorney she married in 1955.

Their union produced three sons, Michael, Ken and Jack. But while Saxon was six months pregnant with her third, her husband died tragically and suddenly, leaving her widowed at age 33.

She was devastated, Michael Saxon said, but determined to move forward. She returned to work and became deeply involved with Baltimore’s Jewish community. “She did not allow herself to become defined by that tragedy,” her son said.

She grew close to William “Bill” Saxon Jr., a Baltimore native who ran in the same social circles. He became the love of her life, her son said, and the couple married in a living room in 1969. Bill Saxon also had two children, Earl and Claudia, from a previous relationship, and the families blended easily.

Freddie Saxon spent the next few decades expanding her community involvement, especially with The Associated. After chairing the women’s campaign for the organization for two years, she went back to school and earned a master’s degree in business.

She then joined The Berkshire Corporation, her family’s real estate development company. She was a construction manager and owner’s representative, and she often recounted the struggles she faced as a woman. But she loved her work: “Building a building provides immediate gratification and a sense of accomplishment different from any I have ever experienced,” she wrote in a Bryn Mawr alumni publication in 1984.

It was through this vocation that she became involved with the Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce and was named its first female president in 1987. Terry Rubenstein, a mentee who later became the second chairwoman of the chamber, said Saxon helped break glass ceilings.

“You all really can’t comprehend what it was like to be a woman in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, coming into the business world,” Rubenstein said. “You just had to work at making things happen. It wasn’t just so simple. And I think that what was helpful is when other women recognized women younger than themselves and helped them along.”

In 2005, Saxon became the president of The Associated Jewish Charities of Baltimore, the financial arm of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.

Marc Terrill, former CEO of The Associated, said Saxon was a very organized and sophisticated partner in planning and resource management. During her time as president, she formed specialized committees that fostered local engagement and helped inform the organization’s strategic plan.

“I always appreciated that Freddie was thoughtful and spoke her mind, but always in a constructive way and guided by her strong values,” Terrill said.

Saxon also held a deep love of the arts, and she became a trustee of the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2004. Four years later, she became chair of the Decorative Arts Accessions Committee. Asma Naeem, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, said Saxon was a “truly exceptional individual” whose “invaluable insights and infectious enthusiasm enriched numerous committees.”

Outside of her job and volunteer work, Saxon loved to travel. She and her husband visited all kinds of places, including the North and South poles. They attended the Royal Ascot in England and enjoyed Carnival in Venice, among other memorable trips, her son said.

Freddie and Bill Saxon were married nearly 45 years, separated only by Bill’s death in 2014. At the time, Freddie Saxon had just started to exhibit signs of dementia. She tried what she could to delay the disease’s progression, but only so much could be done. Her family, which also included eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, spent as much time as they could with her over the last decade of her life.

At her memorial service last week, Saxon’s grandson, Jake, recalled visiting his grandmother to swim during the summer and take walks around her house. He poked fun at her outlandish collection of umbrellas and canes.

Jake Saxon said his grandmother exemplified perseverance and courage, and she taught him to get outside of his comfort zone and find meaning in life wherever he could.

“We called her grand,” he said, “because she was just that — grand.”

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