Book of Memories

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Ayala Dvoretzky, beloved wife, mother, sister, teacher, and cherished friend. With the constant, daily, selfless love and devotion of her husband Israel, and the loyalty of her beloved son Shay and his wife Jamie and Ayala’s cherished granddaughter Maya, and the amazing visits of her sister Leah from Israel, somehow, Ayala lived eight months to the day in the hospital, fighting and fighting for her very life. In the end, even all of the best efforts of her family and the medical staff of the hospital could not save her. She knew before anyone else that it was her time, and she let finally let go. But what an inspired fight she fought! And what superhuman strength she mustered to keep living all that time. And Israel was there by her side, every single day, her angel, her white knight who fought for the treatment that would keep her going. And during that time, she saw Shay and Leah and her family and friends countless times, and they helped to sustain her. Israel talks about how as a parallel to the miracle of the 8 days of Chanukah that he prayed for, he and Ayala were given the last exact 8 months together. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Florence Wolff Seltzer Morgenstein. We have known today was coming for a long time, and in a way it is a blessing, but it is also difficult to understand that Flo is really gone.
She was born in New York on July 28, 1928, the daughter of Jack & Jennie. She was raised with her beloved younger brother Harold, who we remember with affection today.
She went to high school and then secretarial school. She would always use her shorthand for grocery lists. Later, she worked at Macy’s. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor and cherish the life of Marvin Caplan, beloved father and grandfather and uncle and cherished friend. We are sad and frankly shocked with the suddenness with which this happened. I have to tell you that while Marvin certainly has had his medical problems, I had no idea that this was about to happen. He was very much himself, holding court, cruising around the Arden House. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Shirley Fleischer, beloved mother and grandmother and cherished friend. We’re sad to be here, but we know, without any hesitation, that life was not life for her any more, and we should be content that everything that could have been done was done for her, and that she got the best of care from her family and the medical personnel, and that this was her time. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor and cherish the life of Shirley Insler, beloved mother and cherished friend. It’s true that Shirley lived a long and full life, and that she was 94 ½, but we are still shocked by her sudden passing and we are saddened that such a wonderful person has been taken from us. Still, we are comforted that she simply went to sleep. And we know that because of her loyal and loving daughters Nancy and Marcia, everyone did everything right and she got the best of care and attention. We know that everything that could be done for her was done and there are no second thoughts. So let’s not focus on her death but on her wonderful life. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Howard Rothstein, beloved husband, father, grandfather and cherished friend. The truth is that for everything Howie was going through, none of us knew that this was going to happen. As a result, even after a few days, it is hard to grasp that we are here to bury him. Some of us talked to him within a day or even a couple of hours of the end of his life and he was talking and smiling and very much himself. It’s going to take us time just to understand that this has happened.

But here is what is not confusing: Howard Rothstein was a good person, a kind human being, a sociable and positive person, and most of all, a family man. So let’s not focus on his death but on his life. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Priscilla Garber, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and cherished friend.
She was born in New York and raised with her brother Philip who we remember today.
She went to Hunter College for Business and then into the work world. She was the highest paid secretary in the Empire State building; she made $18 a week. (more…)

We’re here today to mourn the passing but also to honor the life of Estelle Goldberg, beloved mother and grandmother and cherished friend.
In a certain way, just like this wonderful person who never complained, we should have complaints about anything. She lived for over a hundred years, she had a good life, and she gave and received a lot of love. So since all this and more is true, why are we so sad? Because she was so good, so much a part of our lives, that it’s hard to imagine life without her. The longer you have a person you love, the more memories and feelings, and all of that and more is washing over us right now. Estelle would say: I am always grateful for all the things I have and for all the things I didn’t have. So despite our sadness, we should take that page out of her book and be nothing but grateful for having had this wonderful person for so long. (more…)