My dear friend Henry is gone and I still cannot believe it; I am still in a state of denial. I continue to wait for the phone to ring, I look for a message on my answer phone with his cheery "hi ho, I’m home." I listen for the sound of his key in the door; I look for him sitting across the table from me as we eat our daily evening meal together. I miss his early, “good morning, did you sleep well?” call.

Who will now bring me flowers for Shabbat every week? Who will sit next to me in shul every Friday evening? With whom will I go to our Herzliya concerts or to our Tel Aviv opera performances?

My dear friend Henry is gone and there is a huge emptiness in me and in my life.

Our Thanksgiving festivities have been cancelled this year because we cannot possibly imagine

the holiday without Henry and his fantastic punch which was always the highlight of the evening.

I have lost my loving companion of 14 years. Years during which we became world travelers visiting such interesting and exciting places as Norway, Finland, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Rockies, the UK, Italy and Iceland. Years during which our lives became intertwined and we became best friends.

How lucky I was to have met a wonderful man with whom to share my life not once, but twice. How many people are fortunate enough to meet someone special and to have a second chance to love and to be loved? How grateful I am for the wonderful years we had together.

Yes, my dear Henry is gone but he has a very secure place in my large collection of fond memories.  I shall miss him and his sweet smile forever.

Judging from the huge crowd at the funeral - so many friends who came to pay their last respects and to say “goodbye” - I realized just how many lives Henry touched.

Henry came to Herzliya from Sydney, Australia and very quickly found himself deeply immersed in ESRA activities. The list is incredibly long: he started the ESRA Social Club which grew into a large active group that enjoyed getting together for holidays, hikes, overnight trips, barbecues, and more; he was a long time active member of the ESRA Golden Friendship Club. He had served as its chairperson and was its treasurer until his end. For many years he was an ESRA volunteer English tutor at a number of different schools; he distributed the ESRA Magazine and delivered Meals on Wheels every Thursday morning for countless years.

In addition, he regularly attended our congregation Torath Hayim, was an associate member of Hadassah as well as a frequent visitor to 'shut-ins' and the sick in hospitals and retirement homes. Henry was a kind and loving person; he was unbelievably generous not only to his family and friends but also to every charitable organization that came knocking at his door.

Henry is gone but not forgotten. I am comforted by your many phone calls and cards offering your sympathy and the many contributions made in his honor. 

May his memory be for a blessing.