My sister Rebecca, or Beck, and in younger days Becky, told mom a few weeks ago that she would write a eulogy. She could tell by her response that Mom wanted to read it, and she did. Beck wrote it in the present tense and delivered it that way at the funeral. I think, and Mom thought, she captured Mom pretty well. I wrote mine after Mom passed and focused more on one value while Beck captured much more. Here is what she wrote:
When I think of my mother, the first thing that comes to mind is her strength. She’s a person of strong character, of strong will. She possesses a strong commitment to do the right thing and to do what needs to be done, without complaint.
My mother’s values are the values of Judaism; being Jewish has always been important to her. She was a founding member of Temple Beth Hillel in
My mother has a strong intellect. She’s always been a voracious reader. She has a strong thirst for knowledge – for news, for information, for the world. She shared this with others as the head librarian of Sadd Memorial Library in
My mother’s thirst for knowledge compelled her to become quite proficient with her computer. She has enjoyed applying her computer ability and has felt particularly proud of having been able to master it, even at what she’s called, her advanced age.
Not only has my mother developed her mind through reading, but she also became a strong, sought-after tennis player. Tennis redeemed her as an athlete. It’s hard to believe that, as a child, she was always the last one to be picked to be on any team. Not when she grew up, though. People loved playing tennis with her because she was really good – and tennis was good to her. She met so many nice people and made so many good friends as a tennis player – and enjoyed following the careers and the lives of her favorite tennis pros.
Tennis played a huge part in my mother’s life. It kept her strong and healthy for many years.
My mother is a strong Democrat. She takes seriously Democratic viewpoints and her supportive arguments never waiver.
My mother is a nice person, and she must be a good friend because her friends have been with her for many, many years: her friends, Alice and Marvin Eisenberg, Bea and George, Rita Hyman – her tennis friends, Jeannie and Millie – her bridge friends, Lynn Angel, Caddie Price and Irma Meskel- her Florida friends, Norma and Mort Freedman. All dear friends who have been mainstays in my mother’s life and have meant so much to her – and /component/page,shop.product_details/product_id,52/flypage,flypage.tpl/pop,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,4/”>cialis natural to me.
Recently, I commented on how fortunate she’s been to have had such nice friends and she said, “Yes, they are. If they weren’t nice, they wouldn’t be my friends.â€
My mother is a person of few words, but the words that she speaks are intelligent, to the point – and right. Yes, in most ways that count, my mother is always right – and, yes, she’s lived to hear her daughter tell her so!
Few words, but facial expressions that leave nothing to the imagination. I’ve particularly loved her “one eyebrow up and one eyebrow down†face, which has had a variety of strong, to the point, meanings.
My mother is a woman of strong, family values. Even during unpleasant family times, she’d say, “It’s family.†She has instilled in her children the importance of family by living it. She and her sisters shared their family values by taking turns and working hard to make each and every holiday dinner a special memory in our cherished, family tradition.
When my mother was young, she noticed a good-looking guy that Mimi dated for awhile. She said that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Long after that, she married Mort, the most handsome man she had ever seen – and together they played tennis, watched tennis, enjoyed Husky basketball, bird watched, shopped and traveled the world.
My mother has traveled to:
Canada, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Columbia, Mexico, Bermuda, Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria,, Romania, Slovakia , England, Czech Republic, Thailand, Ireland and China. Listing all of these places will make a good memory game for her grandchildren! – a way to remember names of countries, but more important, to remember some of the interesting things that grandma has done in her life.
My brothers and I had our children late in our lives, and unfortunately, made our mother wait until she was in her 70’s to enjoy her grandchildren. Oh, how she loves her grandchildren! And how I’ve loved watching her be grandma! She loves spending time with them and she’s always their biggest fan. Recently, I broke down at the thought of her missing out on seeing them grow older, and she said, “That’s okay. I already lived through 3 teenagers.â€
Always thinking, always smart, always strong. I used to interpret my mother’s strong opinions as her way of being too judgmental. I have come to realize that she is simply a master of discernment. She quickly and easily discerns right from wrong, good from bad.
My mother clearly sees the truth and calmly accepts reality. She accepts what is, without envy about what could have been. She says what’s on her mind, but with discretion – and has always told the truth – even about her age.
I admire her for all that she is. To me, my precious mother is beautiful, inside and out. She will leave to us a legacy of truth, of bravery, of strength and of love.
My mother’s values will be on my lips and in my behavior forever, and they will be passed on from generation to generation.