A goodbye
Papa Russ died a week ago today. He was Scott's paternal grandfather. Although I only met Papa Russ a few years ago, he held a special place in my heart. He was a sweet man, an accomplished engineer who served as a Navy lieutenant, and he loved his grandchildren dearly. Whenever we visited, he would tell me his stories of building aircraft carriers in WWII (he was a MIT-educated naval architect).
The funeral was held in Florida on Monday. It was hard see him in his casket. I kept it together until that point; then all I wanted to do was give him a hug. He received military honors, and when "Taps" played I sobbed my eyes out. I'm glad he received such a respectful funeral, and that the honor guard was there. Aunt Linda got his flag, and at the cemetery a large group of us chanted Kaddish. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to him.
Nana Bea, Papa Russ's wife, died in September. Her passing was a shock to all of us; she was the most physically and mentally well of all of Scott's grandparents. Seeing Papa afterwards was hard. His Alzheimer's disease progressed rapidly, and these last few months were difficult for him, for Aunt Linda, and for my father-in-law.
One of my last memories of Papa Russ was sitting on his back porch the day of Nana's funeral. We sat together and held hands while he told me of his memories of Nana Bea. He leaned close to me, tears streaming down his face and said, "I don't know why He took her away from me. I want her back." He leaned his head on my shoulder and we cried together.
At least they are together now.
Until we meet again, Nana and Papa, we love you and we miss you very much.
The funeral was held in Florida on Monday. It was hard see him in his casket. I kept it together until that point; then all I wanted to do was give him a hug. He received military honors, and when "Taps" played I sobbed my eyes out. I'm glad he received such a respectful funeral, and that the honor guard was there. Aunt Linda got his flag, and at the cemetery a large group of us chanted Kaddish. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to him.
Nana Bea, Papa Russ's wife, died in September. Her passing was a shock to all of us; she was the most physically and mentally well of all of Scott's grandparents. Seeing Papa afterwards was hard. His Alzheimer's disease progressed rapidly, and these last few months were difficult for him, for Aunt Linda, and for my father-in-law.
One of my last memories of Papa Russ was sitting on his back porch the day of Nana's funeral. We sat together and held hands while he told me of his memories of Nana Bea. He leaned close to me, tears streaming down his face and said, "I don't know why He took her away from me. I want her back." He leaned his head on my shoulder and we cried together.
At least they are together now.
Until we meet again, Nana and Papa, we love you and we miss you very much.
4 Comments:
So sorry, Cara. Thinking of you and Scott.
Condolences to you all...
I remember Scott telling me about the day his grandfather gave him his engineering scales. I think they were scales, or calibrated weights, or something that his grandfather used when he was studying engineering at MIT before people used computers. I remember him telling me that MIT only admitted something like five Jewish students a year, and Papa Russ was one of them. I can't remember if Scott's grandfather was the member of the family to change their surname from Goldberg, or that was his father (Scott's great-grandfather...?)
Anyway, I'm thinking about the things he learned and the courage he must have had to overcome the anti-Semitism he faced in his lifetime; I'm glad you chanted Kaddish.
I will do a mitzvah this week and think of you all. :)
Thank you for your comments. It was Papa Russ that changed from Goldberg to Scott's current last name. Josef Mordechai Goldberg wasn't going to get many places with the anti-Semitism of those times, so he changed his name.
It was his drafting tools that he passed along; Scott cracked them out on one of our first dates to show me. Thinking of that brought tears to my eyes during the funeral. I'm so glad I got to meet Papa Russ. Papa Russ and Papa Doc (Scott's mom's dad) are actually a lot alike. Two stalwart men who served in the military, quite stubborn, very analytical, but they clearly love(d) their families very, very much.
My thoughts are with you both...
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