My name is Barry Gilbert. My family calls me Kim. I am the second oldest of my mother’s five sons. I’ll try to keep my comments short because there is no way I can describe fully the intricacies of who my mother was and what impact she imparted to my world as well as so many others. My mother was the strongest women I know and she demonstrated that in many ways. One example is the fact that she called me Kim in spite of the name on the birth certificate is Barry Kevin. The way I’ve heard the story, my mother wanted to name me Kim after the book by the same name by Rudyard Kipling, one of her favorite authors. My father disagreed vehemently because he thought that name would not be appropriate as an adult. My mothers said “fine, put what you want on the birth certificate, but I’m calling him Kim” which she always did to her dying day. My mother survived the holocaust fleeing the Nazi’s and as adult decided she wasn’t go to be afraid of anything ever again. An example of this is when my parents were living in St. Lucia they came home one afternoon to find that their house had been broken in to and the burglar was still there ransacking the house. He was waving a hand gun around that he had found hidden in my parents belongings. After some threatening remarks by the burglar that they better stand back if they didn’t want to get hurt, my mother promptly strutted up to the burglar, grabbed the gun out his hand, and told him you better give me that gun before the police come and shoot you down. She was one gutsy women. My mother was a strong person with strong opinions and imparted on to her children a strong moral compass that was based on a her beliefs that there’s always a right thing to do in any situation. She was a loving and devoted mother who worried incessantly about her kids long after we were old enough to take care of ourselves. She was always asking if things were alright and if we were happy. It was very important to her that we be happy and she worried greatly if she perceived that we were having personal troubles. My mom made an indelible impression on me that you can be a strong person but still do right by others. She detested bullies and stood up to anyone who thought they might be foolish enough to intimidate her. Mom, all I can say in closing is that we love you and will miss you dearly for years to come.