Joseph Rosen eulogy to his cousin inlaw

14.03.2003 – Stone Setting

Yud , Adar Biet, TaShSnaG

Just one month has passed since Laura departed from our lives. One month is a relatively short period of time within the framework of a lifetime but a month is long enough to realise the impact of her passing.

In life we often take for granted familiar things and hardly have time to express our appreciation or affection for the people who are part of our daily existence. Then suddenly when these familiar things or loved persons are taken away we see them in every facet of our lives, expect to encounter them in all the places where we had grown accustomed to seeing them and realise how great a part they played in our lives and loves.

Laura quietly played many roles and provided a loved and consistent presence for many. As an only child Laura represented the hopes of a new generation after the horrors of the Holocaust. Laura was the child born to parents who had to start a new life in an unfamiliar place. She was the continuation of a broken chain, giving new meaning to her mother and father. She was a renewed expression of normality in a world which had grown crazy and turned their lives upside down. She cared for them and nursed them in their hour of need and was an exemplary daughter at all times to them.

Laura was the perfect partner in life for Leonard - the wife prepared to start a new life by his side and become an immigrant herself upon making aliyah. She was prepared to face the unknown and the unfamiliar and was a support to him in his determination to make a future here in Israel. Laura was the force creating a home and refuge in the regular turmoil of existence here. They had a unity which allowed each of them to be an individual whilst being part of the team.  They enjoyed their separate pastimes and interests and were equally happy with their shared and mutual pleasures.

Laura was the ever-dependable mother to Perry, Orli, Guy and Aviad, an anchor on whom they could rely, a guiding light through any trials and vicissitudes. She was an inspiration to them in her loyalty and her care for them, and an example to them in her stoicism in the face of pain and suffering. She encouraged them to spread their wings, experience for themselves and let herself derive pleasure from their pleasure. Her love was unselfish and undivided and they knew that she was always there for them.

Laura was determined to see the first of the next generation and spent many of her last hours relishing in the company of Gil. She had the fulfillment of knowing that the chain continued and that the family unit for which she had worked so hard was successful and strong enough to continue where she had to stop.

Laura was also an independent individual existing in her own right. She was blessed with the talent of creation - her family, her children and her art. Her perceptive eye, her active imagination, and her artistic hand merged together to produce a treasury of beauty and creativity on which the eye can feast and the spirit be moved. She was not bound by time and space and had the courage to experiment with new techniques and forms. From the mundane and the discarded she created new beauty and illusions, works of art which proudly bear her name and individuality.

If we were guilty sometimes of taking for granted the blessing that we had in knowing Laura may we be forgiven because in this short month we have been made aware how much she gave to all of us. We just have to see how Leonard, Perry, Orly, Guy and Aviad have supported each other, have had the strength to bear this sad loss and to have the fortitude to carry on in Laura's traditions, to know that Laura has left a positive impact on us all and succeeded in the things that to her were most important. I would like to conclude with a short poem which maybe expresses much better than I could a message to us all:

MEMORIES

Loved ones pass in and out of our lives,

Remembering the good and bad times,

I recall loved ones lost,

Cherishing fading memories at all cost.

Recalling the faces of those I once loved and yet still do,

Fearing the demons of memories forgotten,

memories new.

Holding hope that we may be reunited one day,

Before the cherished memories of a past long gone fade fast away.

Cherish loved ones now…. in this day, in this time,

Before they become an old tattered memory of one's woeful mind.

Love them now while you can,

Let them love you like they did when your life

 together began.

Family, friends ….. loved ones so dear,

Let us live each day together as if the last day

 is drawing near.

Recall faded memories of happiness and smiles

 all the while,

Not of anger and tears nor regrets of not saying goodbye.

Loved ones are with us for such a short time in this world, of this time,

Turn a day into a week, a penny into a dime….

Make the absolute most of our time with those

 we love here,

For we never know when my time, or your time

 may be near.