Zeyda's Web-Site

Backtracking a bit, Rose reconciled with her father and her siblings around the late 60's. The relationship with her brother, Charley, remained very cool. We did attend the Bar Mitzvah of his son, Jeffrey, around 1966  but the relationship with Charley and his family never improved and there was no communication between the families.

In 1973 we made our first trip to Israel to attend and participate at Asher's wedding. The following year Asher and Chana came to visit us in the states. Starting in 1975 Rose and I made yearly trips but there were a few occasions when Rose made two trips a year; our regular visit and to help out on the birth of a baby.

I don't remember the date but prior to 1977 Yitzchack Meir's second wife, Henny, died. He was now all alone and he decided that he wanted to return to the land of his birth, Israel. When Eliezer got married in June of 1977 Yitzchack Meir decided to join us for the flight and to attend the wedding. He moved into a retirement home in Jerusalem, Neve Simcha. We visited with him every time that we were in Israel and he seemed very satisfied with his situation. He was near his brothers and sisters and many, many nephews and nieces. For many years he would walk to visit Asher and family on Friday when they lived in Givat Shaul. I'm sure that some of the grandchildren still remember the "peckalach" that he brought at every visit.

In 1980 Adele was living in Brighton Beach and she decided to move closer to us. She was having some medical problems and I guess she felt that it would be easier for her to be near her sister. Unfortunately, soon after she moved she had a heart attack and died. There was nobody to take responsibility for the funeral because she was divorced and her children lived far away. Somehow, with the help of the police, we were able to contact her daughter in Florida. She in turn contacted her father and brother. We made all the arrangements and paid all the expenses including a monument. We put up the family in our apartment during the Shiva period. This happened in November and I believe we waited until after Sheloshim to tell her father so that he wouldn't have to sit Shiva. It's hard when a close relative passes away even if the relationship has been strained. But a parent should not have to endure the pain of surviving a child. Yitzchack Meir did reimburse us for the expenses.

Regrettably we had to repeat notifying Yitzchack Meir about the loss of a child on two additional occasions; when Charley died in May of 1981 and when Rachel passed away in February of 1984. Rachel's husband, Leon Speiser, was not able to handle the arrangements for her funeral and we had to contribute, along with his brothers, to the expenses.

Rachel and Leon had two sons, the eldest Heshey  was already married and the younger one, Avraham, was still at home. When Rosh Hashanah arrived and Leon and Avraham had not received an invitation from their married son to join him for Yom Tov we invited them to join us for the meals. And when Avraham turned thirteen we had to arrange a kiddush on Shabbos to celebrate the Bar Mitzvah.

In 1984 Yitzchack Meir wrote a will and wrote to us explaining what his intention was for the distribution of his estate. He wanted to leave money for his daughter, Rose, and to Charley's widow, also named Rose, and to his grandchildren and great grandchildren with a special amount for Avraham with whom he had a special relationship because they had lived together in the same building for many years. He did not leave any money for Adele's ex-husband, Moshe Brodetsky, or for Leon Speiser. I think Moshe was remarried at this time and not leaving him anything made some sense. But Leo was a different situation. He really needed any help that could be extended to him.  When we visited that Succos I told him that I didn't agree with how he wanted to distribute his estate. I thought that his daughter, Rose, his sole surviving child should be the primary beneficiary. He didn't agree. I didn't change his mind but I remember telling him that it was his money and he had the right to do with it whatever he wanted to but what he was doing was not right.