We’re here today to mourn the passing of Rhoda Paroly, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Rhoda was born on November 16, 1925 in the Bronx. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Frieda Fallick. She graduated Evander Childs High School.

She met Bernie in 1939; when he passed away, they had known each other nearly 70 years, and they had been married 64 years. They lived in the Bronx and Queens and lived in Apple Hill for 37 years. They were in business and worked hard at their family owned handbag factory. Bernie and Rhoda did so much together and they enjoyed life. They had ups and downs but they had them together. Bernie was a great husband who wanted to give Rhoda everything and anything. He was patient and treated her like a queen.

She was the mother of Bette and Elaine and they have been very loyal and good and supportive, even during difficult times. We mourn today with Eugene and thank him for everything he did. We miss David very much at this time. The only thing that Rhoda really liked about living at Masonic was seeing David all the time.

Everyone has been to funerals where they didn’t know who was being talked about. So let me say very honestly that Rhoda could be really tough. I will never forget walking into a hospital room and she said, “Rabbi, I’m so happy you’re here. I have a question. In Judaism, can we divorce our children?” When I said no, and defended her wonderful daughters, she wasn’t happy with me, either. But I do have to say that my experience of Rhoda was very good. Every other time I saw her, she was very nice to me.
But Rhoda could be tough. In a certain way, that toughness that made her a battle-axe sometimes also made her live longer than she should have for her own sake

She and Bernie were very fortunate to have a young family: they were young grandparents and young great-grandparents. They were proud of their grandchildren: Scott, Steven, Ben, and Julie and their great-grandchildren: Kyle, Rachel, Sophie, Emma, Summer, Ethan, Carter, Tessa, and Meghan. Their grandchildren were a major part of their life. She and Bernie were active great-grandparents, too, attending birthday parties for many years.

There were trips to Atlantic City and dinners at Jai Alai.

We want to mention her animal friends: Henry, Lily, Kitty and Juno.

You can’t summarize all these years in a few words. But we can draw comfort that this was her time and that it was time to go. She was a righteous woman. May she rest in peace.