And so, my dearest husband died this Friday July 20th. I will have hours and hours filled with words to share. For now I wanted to publish the eulogy that his loving sister wrote & read.
THANK YOU ALL
FOR BEING HERE. YOUR GATHERING IS A BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO DAVID.
DAVID IS MY OLDER
BROTHER. I LOOKED UP TO AND
ADMIRED HIM FOR BEING SO UNIQUE – FOR BEING HIS OWN PERSON.
I ALWAYS WANTED A BOYFRIEND
LIKE DAVID - SENSITIVE, HANDSOME, ROMANTIC, CARING AND FUNNY.
AS HIS LITTLE
SISTER, I WOULD TRY TO HANG AROUND DAVID
AND HIS FRIENDS, THOUGH HE DIDN’T EXACTLY
RETURN MY WORSHIP. HE DID NOT WANT HIS
YOUNGER SISTER HANGING AROUND…ESPECIALLY WITH HIS MALE FRIENDS – WHO WERE
PRETTY GOOD LOOKING.
GROWING UP WITH DAVID
WAS NOT ALL PEACHES AND CREAM. DAVID WAS A JOKER, AND I WAS HIS PUNCH
LINE. AS A KID HE OFTEN TRIED TO
SURPRISE AND SHOCK ME. EVEN AT AN EARLY
AGE HE HAD A FLARE FOR DRAMA:
DAVID WOULD DON HIS CAPE AND CHASE ME AROUND THE HOUSE. HE MIGHT WAIT FOR ME IN A DARK ROOM OR JUMP
DOWN THE STAIRS AND GRAB ME. I ALSO FOUND MYSELF LOCKED IN CLOSETS… TO THIS DAY
I’M CLAUSTROPHOBIC.
THANKFULLY, DAVID
OUTGREW ME AS HIS LABORATORY FOR DRAMA. DAVID TURNED HIS TALENTS TO ACTING AND
MUSIC. HE WAS VERY TALENTED—HE WROTE
POETRY, PERFORMED ON STAGE, HAD A
BEAUTIFUL VOICE, AND WAS PASSIONATE ABOUT MOVIES.
DAVID EVEN HAD A STAGE NAME PICKED OUT– DAVID TRAD – TRAD
WAS THE FIRST FOUR LETTERS OF DARTMOUTH – SPELLED BACKWARDS. WHEN HE WAS
YOUNGER, DAVID DREAMED OF BEING AN ACTOR AND A SINGER.
ONE DAY HE MET
THE ACTOR ELLIOT GOULD WHO SET DAVID
STRAIGHT – ELLIOT SIGNED AN AUTOGRAPH TO DAVID…. THE AUTOGRAPH SAID – DAVID, BE
A RABBI. AND THAT WAS THAT, HE DID NEITHER!
DAVID HAD A FABULOUS
EYE FOR FASHION AND BECAME A BUYER OF
WOMEN’S APPAREL FOR THE FAMILY STORE SILVERSTEINS; HE WAS ALWAYS DRESSED TO A TEE, EVEN TO THE
END.
DAVID HAD A ZEST FOR
LIFE - HIS TALENTS, HIS COMPASSION, HIS
EMPATHY AND HIS LOVE. HE ENJOYED 10 YEARS OF MARRIAGE WITH JAYNE, AND I’D LIKE
TO THANK HER FOR BEING RIGHT BY HIS SIDE.
DAVID ALSO HAD A
PASSION FOR CHILDREN. HE WOULD ALWAYS
GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR TO PLAY WITH HIS NIECES AND NEPHEWS WHO HE LOVED- WILL,
JULIA, ELIZABETH, ZAC, ALEX AND ADIN. THIS
IS ONE OF THE MEMORIES OF DAVID THEY WILL ALWAYS HAVE. HIS LOVING SPIRIT EXTENDED TO HIS WIDE CIRCLE
OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO ARE HERE TODAY FOR HIM.
SO WHO WAS MY BROTHER?
HE WAS A SIMPLE MAN -
EVEN HIS EMAIL ADDRESS WAS SIMPLEMAN—HE
WAS COMPASSIONATE, EMPATHIC, AND A IDEALIST.
A HUSBAND, A FATHER, SON,
BROTHER, FRIEND, AND LEADER. HE WAS ALWAYS YOUNG AT HEART.
HE IS IN MY
HEART.
HE IS IN ALL OF OUR
HEARTS.
I’D LIKE TO CLOSE
WITH A POEM BY MARY ELIZABETH FRYE THAT I WASN’T SURE I COULD GET THROUGH, AND
NOW I THINK I CAN
Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep
By Mary Elizabeth Frye
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not
there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints
on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When
you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds
in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my
grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.
DAVID I WILL MISS YOU.