June 12, 2020
June 12, 2020
(Posted for Rabbi Harvey Tattelbaum by his daughter Kate)
I am Rabbi Harvey Tattelbaum. My wife Meryl and I first met Bernice in 1993, shortly after my daughter Polly had begun dating Bernice's son Gordon. Two years later, Bernice and her husband Ken, and Meryl and I became Machatunim (relatives by marriage). For 25 years we shared so many wonderful family celebrations Four highlights were the day Polly and Gordon were married and the births of their three children: Richard Wynter (named after Bernice's first husband), Pauley Rayn (named after my mother, Pauline), and Dory Quoya (named after Bernice's mother, Dora Braverman).
Bernice was a remarkable and fiercely independent woman. I have personally known this to be so and have read the tributes about Bernice that beautifully capture the strength and self-reliance she possessed throughout her life during happy times and in times of deep sorrow. My tribute to Bernice is of a slightly different nature.
In late August 2019, Bernice so unexpectedly took ill. Her beloved sons, David and Gordon, did all they could to help her regain her independence. But by early October, she was too frail and vulnerable to be on her own any more.
To keep her away from a facility and close to loved ones, Gordon and Polly took Bernice into their home in Pound Ridge, NY and that is where she remained for eight months, until her death. Never have I seen a family so tirelessly devoted and attentive to providing gentle care and concern for their Mother, Mother-in-law and Grandmother. She was safe, loved and comfortable there.
Through the cold dark winter, Bernice endured complex treatments with a familiar resilience we have long admired. Even as the illness became too big for her to fight anymore, Bernice not once ever lost her dignity or grace, her beauty and tenderness, the sparkle in her delicate green eyes, her ability to give love and to receive it, and to make people laugh and laugh herself.
Her friends and family came to spend precious time with her. David, his wife Sarah and their son Ryan Benjamin (named after Bernice’s father, Benjamin Braverman) made trips from the West Coast to be with her and take her on special outings.
She faded gently, lovingly and peacefully into that good night with Gordon's family beside her and David's family virtually beside her in California. We had a very small virtual ceremony for Bernice's sons and their families and two caregivers (Shelly and Dalva who were so lovingly intertwined in the caring process). Together we honored Bernice and blessed her for the amazing woman she was and for the incredible legacy she leaves behind.
May her memory be a blessing.
(Posted for Rabbi Harvey Tattelbaum by his daughter Kate)
I am Rabbi Harvey Tattelbaum. My wife Meryl and I first met Bernice in 1993, shortly after my daughter Polly had begun dating Bernice's son Gordon. Two years later, Bernice and her husband Ken, and Meryl and I became Machatunim (relatives by marriage). For 25 years we shared so many wonderful family celebrations Four highlights were the day Polly and Gordon were married and the births of their three children: Richard Wynter (named after Bernice's first husband), Pauley Rayn (named after my mother, Pauline), and Dory Quoya (named after Bernice's mother, Dora Braverman).
Bernice was a remarkable and fiercely independent woman. I have personally known this to be so and have read the tributes about Bernice that beautifully capture the strength and self-reliance she possessed throughout her life during happy times and in times of deep sorrow. My tribute to Bernice is of a slightly different nature.
In late August 2019, Bernice so unexpectedly took ill. Her beloved sons, David and Gordon, did all they could to help her regain her independence. But by early October, she was too frail and vulnerable to be on her own any more.
To keep her away from a facility and close to loved ones, Gordon and Polly took Bernice into their home in Pound Ridge, NY and that is where she remained for eight months, until her death. Never have I seen a family so tirelessly devoted and attentive to providing gentle care and concern for their Mother, Mother-in-law and Grandmother. She was safe, loved and comfortable there.
Through the cold dark winter, Bernice endured complex treatments with a familiar resilience we have long admired. Even as the illness became too big for her to fight anymore, Bernice not once ever lost her dignity or grace, her beauty and tenderness, the sparkle in her delicate green eyes, her ability to give love and to receive it, and to make people laugh and laugh herself.
Her friends and family came to spend precious time with her. David, his wife Sarah and their son Ryan Benjamin (named after Bernice’s father, Benjamin Braverman) made trips from the West Coast to be with her and take her on special outings.
She faded gently, lovingly and peacefully into that good night with Gordon's family beside her and David's family virtually beside her in California. We had a very small virtual ceremony for Bernice's sons and their families and two caregivers (Shelly and Dalva who were so lovingly intertwined in the caring process). Together we honored Bernice and blessed her for the amazing woman she was and for the incredible legacy she leaves behind.
May her memory be a blessing.
(Posted for Rabbi Harvey Tattelbaum by his daughter Kate)