Eulogy for our Zaida Ronnie
by Nossi Rosenfeld
on behalf of the Grandkids


Unfortunately I wasn't able to be with you all at this time of grief in our family. I would like to say a few words from here in Canada about my grandfather Ronnie. 

I will always remember Ronnie as one of the funniest guys who always made everyone laugh. As I am sure I can say on behalf of all the grand kids, he always made us smile and made us feel special. We couldn't be more grateful to have all of these wonderful memories of our grandfather Ronnie. 

Everyone knows that Zaidy Ronnie went out of his way to always do good and help others. One teaching from the Torah we could learn from is Ve ahavta lorayecha k’mocha "love your fellow as yourself" as he showed to us all from his "have a heart give a part" campaign. 

I think we could all learn from Zaidy Ronnie this concept of always going beyond ourselves even if it's out of our comfort zone. To help someone in need. 

I will always remember times when we went out, visiting friends in need, or going to do something for one of the countless organizations he supported. 

Zaidy, I will always treasure the memories of the times we spent together. I learned so much from you over the years and I will miss you deeply. 

Love to you all, Nossi. 

Eulogy for our Step Dad
by Jono Gelfand
on behalf of the Gelfand Goldman family  


The Gelfand group, consisting of our mum Annette, Danielle, Josh and myself joined into the magical crazy world of Ronnie just over 23 years ago. In fact I was the one that took the original phone call from Ronnie and it was from that instant that our lives were never going to be the same, and everything changed for the better for us Gelfands.

At the time, mum had been single for almost 6 years when the phone rang. I was talking to my girlfriend of the time, Kelly my now wife of 18 years, when the other line rang. I put her on hold and said “hello” to which I was greeted with “hello, is there an Annette there?” and I said “why?” and was hit with “I want to speak with her” and I said “why? What about?” he said “is she single?” and then it dawned on me –  this was a prospective date! So I said “what do you do?” and he said “I am a dentist” and I thought great. Then he added “I’d like to ask her out” so I said “OK, fine” and we hung up. I got back onto the phone call with Kell and told her this weird dentist had just called, I told her he didn’t have a chance – luckily I couldn’t have been more wrong.

After a dream first date – pick up from our house, coffee and short stack at Pancake Parlour Doncaster Road where Ronnie forgot his wallet, it really was love at first sight. From that point on you would always see mum and Ronnie holding hands – and they continued to do so right up until the very end. Their obvious love and devotion for each other was an inspiration for us all and was a pleasure to be around.

We also loved Ronnie from that first moment, his warm, engaging and ever present personality drew us in immediately. From the very start we were impressed with his “one’s man trash is another man’s treasure” mantra. Almost immediately things started appearing in our house that had never been there before. An old anchor, a train buffer, a captain’s steering wheel, even a bright red phone box all salvaged off the nature strip of various streets around Melbourne. And just as quickly mum very creatively found special and well hidden places for these great finds in corners of the garden and in spare rooms at the house, and many other hidden away spots.

But these treasures often came in handy and were sometimes even put to good use. Ronnie would look at a tree in someone’s garden and say “that’s a great place for a cubby” and the next day he would arrive with a trailer full of wood, doors, old fences, string, sticks and other unknown objects and within a few hours a magical fort would appear to everyone’s great delight. Milk crates became billy carts, phone boxes became stages, an old cart became a planter box – each item magically transformed through Ronnie’s vision, passion, creativity and inability to take no for an answer.

Many of us have also seen that passion and inability to take no for an answer applied to his many charitable and community projects. Nobody could strategically use an OAM like Ronnie, he knew it opened doors which allowed him to share his passion for his many projects, and that energy and passion became infectious as everyone got on board to join in his cause to make things better, here, in Israel, actually anywhere. From collecting blue boxes to raising awareness and funds for organ donation, when Ronnie was on the case you knew about it.

When you first entered into Ronnie’s world you couldn’t help but become fully absorbed in the magic he created. His presence was felt so strongly everywhere he went. I can’t even count the number of times that I would introduce myself to people and they would say “Oh, you’re Ronnie’s – what an amazing man!” and it always made me happy and proud to be a part of it.

Earlier this week Josh was going through Ronnie’s emails and came across this one which really exemplified the very essence of Ronnie – it shows just one of the many meaningful ways that Ronnie would connect and genuinely engage with people and it reads as follows:

Dear Ronnie

We met last week, briefly, when I visited Epworth Richmond to attend an interview.  I initially noticed you when you were singing alongside the lady who was playing the harp so beautifully and then we spoke in the corridor when you were making your way back to your hospital room.  You asked me to write down your name which I did and I wanted to thank you, so I decided to look you up on the internet.

I very much enjoyed meeting you, albeit it briefly, and wanted to let you know that it is people like you who make a difference to people’s lives.  Thank you for bringing a smile to so many people, including me.  I have worked in many large acute hospitals for many years, however, this was a unique experience for me.

You confirmed for me why I initially trained as a registered nurse and have stayed in the profession for so many years.  Like you, I am committed to serving others.

Kindest regards
Debra

Ronnie’s favourite time was spent with the people he loved – and he really loved his family. He loved mum, his absolutely loved his kids and especially his grand kids who adored their Zaida. He always had time and energy for each one individually, playing back gammon, pool, badminton in the garden, singing songs at the piano, talking in his duck voice, telling stories and jokes or just hanging out together. He had a special song that he sang to each one – they all loved their own special song and were hypnotised every time he would sing it to them.

He went to so many of their football, soccer, hockey and basketball games and was always the loudest person in the crowd cheering them on, full of love and energy and support. He would remind the boys each time they won at footy and sang the Ajax theme song “you now Zaida wrote that song” and they couldn’t be prouder.

Often at family Seders and Friday night dinners he would gather all the grand kids around his special wine pourer as he said the kiddish. He would then spontaneously burst in any number of songs that we would all join in and sing along to, instantly drawn into the inner circle he created. He would then sit back, look around and say to whoever was next to him “Isn’t this just the best with the family all together – I am the luckiest person in the world” and we all heard it and we all felt it.

Ronnie loved food, he loved music, he loved Yiddish, he loved crazy accents and funny stories, he loved everyone in this room in his own special way, every single person here has their own special memories with him – because Ronnie loved life and he lived it to the fullest.

And most of all he loved mum. He expressed it often, both to her and to us, over and over and over again. When he was initially diagnosed with his brain tumor, incredibly just over three weeks ago, his first concern and words to me were to make sure to look after mum, he felt bad that he was making her suffer and that he loved her so much and that he wanted to be sure that she would be OK. 

Ronnie, we love you and thank you for all you have given us, you will be missed.

Eulogy for Dad.

Spoken by Shawn Goldberg on behalf his sibblings
Sarah and Ilan Goldberg



There is so much to say, and so much that can’t be.

Lifelong experiences fall between gaps of each word into warm memories.

Over the last 3 weeks whilst Dad was in hospital – we all shared some very special moments together. I can still hear him saying to me “Shawn, life is great! Life is fun! I am the richest man in the whole world – I’m surrounded by the love of my family and friends.” And that is exactly how he loved to live.

Dad had an incredible passion for life, a passion to help those most vulnerable, and a passion to see people smile. All of this was achieved through his boundless energy and incredible humour, which was often very crass. He was unfiltered in what he said, always saying exactly whatever he wanted, never holding back; loving to shock others in his way. He used to frequently tell us “my favourite animal is the Wombat: It eats roots shoots and leaves” and then laugh himself silly. I guess this has taught me… to hold back and not always say everything all of the time. But his humour has been infused in us all.

Dad gave so much – not just to his family but to everyone he met or encountered, even briefly. He was staunchly and proudly an Australian Jew, this was very important to him. He learnt from a very young age, protecting his little brother Norman on the rough and tough streets of Elwood that you had to fight for your differences and embrace them, wear them on your sleeve as a badge of honour.

A defining moment for Dad was at 8 years of age. It was when his Father had learnt that his whole family had perished in the Holocaust. From that moment on everything changed in Dad’s life. The impact on his Father was profound and shaped who dad was till the end. The Magen David necklace he wore so proudly asserted to everyone exactly who he was and what he stood for.

With his strong identity he surged forward in the community. As a child I have fond memories of accompanying Dad on some of his JNF Blue Box Collection rounds which he did weekly. I would quietly watch as he effortlessly conversed while making himself at home with laughter and a long repertoire of jokes. Some of them I didn’t get…some of them I wish I didn’t get... All the while he never missed a beat.

I also remember my dad during the early days of Bialik College. The parents put in the yearly effort to perform for the Bialik Reviews raising funds to help the school stay afloat. My favourite performance was his Russian Laughing Act. Dressed with his favourite fur hat and long trench coat he bellowed out this strange song which had verses of laughter. The more he sang out this belly laugh the more the audience in laughed in response until we were all in hysterics, him included.

I have so many fond memories of growing up with my mum (Freda) and dad, together with Sarah and Ilan. We were nurtured and celebrated. Family life was full of music, laughter, holiday trips and great food. I affectionately remember all of the musical soirees we would have with our parent’s friends in tow – of course dad was always the centre of attention. I remember big birthday parties for us kids held at home. Dad would pile 20 or so of us kids at a time into this old wooden cart and pull us along for a ride. At other times, he would embarrass us to no end, doing things like driving on footpaths, over roundabouts, and generally around the bend all just to see us laugh. Yearly visits to our school to educate kids on healthy dental care had our classes in giggling fits. He would do anything to see us smile.

This continued throughout his life. I can clearly see the sparkle in his eyes as he dazzled and entertained all his grandchildren. Each laughing at his silliness and spontaneity. It was common for Dad to break into song at any time and all to follow suit. Dad was dedicated to his family and friends and he would often tell us how lucky he is to be surrounded by such love. His tireless and effortless attendance at all sporting and performing events was just a small part of his dedication, compassion and warmth to us all.

This definitely shon through in his last living moments when all seven of his children (Jackie, Myself, Sarah, Ilan, Danielle, Jono and Josh), along with respective partners as well as his loving wife Annette were together around him watching him take his last breaths. The sense of unity and togetherness would have given him so much nachas and pleasure. Ultimately this would have been his greatest gift and wish for us to be affectionately united. It was also testament to his loving relationship with Annette. He was so fond of you Annette. He would often tell me how much his love, respect and adoration deepened for you over the years. We are all very grateful for the happiness you brought to Dad’s life.

Dad was the proud recipient of countless awards over the years, including his Medal of the Order of Australia, his Paul Harris Fellow which is the International Rotary Foundation Award, as well as being nominated several times as Australian of the Year and Senior Citizen of the Year.

Following his first nomination as Australian of the Year we had a small celebration at home. There he gave a touching speech of his pride to be an Australian. He felt lucky for what this country had to offer, reflecting on the fortune and luck that Australia gave refuge to his family and community at large. He spoke about the need to give back to Australia as much as it had given to him.

Dad never liked to live by the rules. He would always tell us that rules were there to serve and protect. Recently, in a chat with my brother, Ilan, Dad told him all about his 3 heroes:

Theodore Herzel Sir John Monash and Sir Weary Dunlop

And he was very clear in his reasons for these choices:

Theodore Herzel a father of modern Zionism said “if you will it, it is no dream” and Dad willed so many things. That was how he accomplished so many of his projects. From helping fund a quadriplegic unit at the Austin Hospital, to one of his greatest achievements helping a dear friend with MS by inventing a simple device to turn pages to read. No challenge was too large. He revelled in the opportunities to overcome the obstacles before him.

His second hero, Sir John Monash, was the first Australian Jewish war general in WW1. Monash witnessed tens of thousands of soldiers being shot dead as they fought on the front line. He decided to break protocol and send tanks ahead to clear the way and protect his troops.

Dad admired that forward practical thinking and believed that rules were meant to serve, not that we are meant to serve them. In other words rules are meant to be broken.  

Dad used this same approach in life. Early on in his career when he was a registrar at Dental Hospital, they were instructed to follow protocol; to only perform one procedure at any one time in a strict order. Firstly fillings, crowns and then implants which meant multiple visits and prolonged treatment time.

Dad rocked the boat and broke protocol when a young, partially disabled woman presented to him at the Hospital with multiple dental issues. She was more anxious to get her missing tooth fixed than a filling filled before a job interview and had very little time to get it done. Dad was onto it straight away. He convinced the Dental Technician to help out and as a result the Head Dentist came down hard on him. The punishment dealt? …he wasn’t able to sit his final exams that year which delayed graduation and possibly could have sacrificed his career for the sake of person’s need. It didn’t stop him practicing Dentistry and enjoying a successful 52 year career mostly in Williamstown.

Dad’s third hero was Sir Weary Dunlop, another Australian general who was captured and regularly tortured by the Japanese. A courageous leader and compassionate doctor, he restored morale in those terrible prison camps and jungle hospitals. Dunlop defied his captors, gave hope to the sick and eased the anguish of the dying.

Whilst Dad didn’t fight in the jungles nor was he held captive at any time, Dunlop’s traits resonated strongly with him.

Dad was passionate about advocating for those in need, he was passionate about his family, passionate about his friends. He was always available and looking for an opportunity to help and was always curious. I once asked him why he didn’t try and make his charity work into his livelihood, he just smiled and said that he was happy and had everything he needed in life; it was his pleasure to give to others. He took this approach to his final days raising awareness and support for men’s heath in the outer suburbs of Melbourne and raised $10million within weeks for epilepsy and Parkinson’s research; all from his hospital bed between diagnosis and the end of his life.

When he heard about his diagnosis he told us “don’t you dare be upset” as he felt so strongly that he had to protect us too.

Dad asked me days before his passing if I was proud of him. I’m beyond proud. I have not only lost a father, I have lost a really good friend but our relationship was complete and we have so much to cherish.  I also know Sarah, Ilan and Omkara feel exactly the same way. I’m proud how he selflessly took Sarah’s son Omkara under his wing nourishing and nurturing him as if his own.    He has given us so much and it will stay with us forever. His death was premature; the gap is large. His legacy will be with the family, friends and greater community for generations to come.

Thank you.

Eulogy for Ronnie Goldberg OAM

By Murray Verso 
Rotary Club of Williamstown

16th of July 2015



Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentleman.

I have been asked by the family to say a few words about Ronnie Goldberg’s involvement with Rotary. I am honoured to do so.

Ronnie’s impact on us all was immense, and this was certainly true of those of us who knew him through Rotary. Ronnie was larger than life, a remarkable unique character, someone you could not forget easily.

ROTARY INDUCTION
Ronnie’s 30 year involvement began when he was inducted into the Rotary Club of Williamstown on the 1st October 1984. In those days, Rotary looked for what it called “leaders in their field” to join its many clubs.  Ronnie was a popular and leading dentist in Williamstown from 1973 until 2013. Still today, people speak of his skills as a dentist:                  

how he relaxed them, how he could give an anaesthetic injection painlessly, how he kept them amused and distracted with his jokes and, most importantly, how he genuinely cared for them.

Ron was always a popular Rotarian but not a conventional one. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the weekly meetings, the networking opportunities and he took pride in the service work of the club but he disliked committees and kept away from them and he did not seek office in the club. He declined several requests to become the club president. However, he did live his life by Rotary’s noble motto of 'Service above Self".

CLUB SERGEANT
One role he did take on a number of times was that of club sergeant. He was well suited to it. Week after week he regaled members with humorous tales built around their various minor misdemeanours. He was probably the best joke teller I’ve ever known. His use of accents and his timing were superb. He often had us laughing long before the punch line was reached. He was of course very quick witted but I can’t recall any of his quips that were clean enough to repeat on an occasion such as this!

ROQUAD
The first time Ronnie harnessed the power of Rotary to raise funds was in 1996 when he established ROQUAD. This was a fund to enable quadriplegics to have tendons in their neck and shoulders transferred to restore movement to their arms and hands. With the funds raised by ROQUAD a two-bed unit at the Austin Hospital was established exclusively for this quadriplegic hand restoration surgery. At the opening of the ward, Ronnie invited representatives from the consulates of Israel, Turkey and Egypt to be present. I remember him saying that his father would have been very proud to see representatives from those particular countries coming together for such a worthwhile cause. The ROQUAD project won the 1998 Premiers Award for the best project by a service club in Victoria.

YARRA MEMORIAL:
About 15 years ago, a WW2 naval veteran, Angus Walsh spoke at one of our lunchtime Rotary meetings about the HMAS Yarra. The Yarra was a ship that had been sunk by the Japanese in 1942. 138 of her crew had been lost in the sinking and only 13 had survived. It was an heroic story and for years, this old chap had been trying to establish a memorial for the ship and its crew. Immediately, Ronnie decided to help. He arranged for another Rotarian, an architect, to design the memorial and for Army engineers to prepare a site at the mouth of the Yarra River in Newport. He also sought assistance from Smorgon Steel and local tradesmen. Thanks largely to Ronnie’s drive and commitment, the memorial was opened on 12th November 2000. Each year, on the anniversary of the dedication ceremony, the Rotary Club of Williamstown provides a free barbecue for dignitaries and the descendants of the ship’s crew. I think in years to come, it will also be a day on which we remember Ronnie.

HAVE A HEART GIVE A PART:
In 2003, another speaker at our Rotary Club talked to us about the low rates of organ donation in Australia. He was not a very effective speaker but the subject of his talk aroused Ronnie’s interest. At that time, 140 Australians a year were dying waiting for a lifesaving organ. We looked at Ronnie and we looked at each other and thought “here we go again”!  Sure enough, that afternoon Ronnie began ringing various businesses, government departments, sporting clubs, churches and other organizations to get them to encourage their members to commit to organ donation. From this, and led by Ronnie, the Rotary Club’s “Have a Heart, Give a Part” campaign began.

Thanks to Ronnie’s drive, the campaign raised more than $250,000 and helped to fund research (2004-2006) at the Alfred Hospital into transplant techniques.  This research resulted in a world first, the Donations after Cardiac Death transplant technique.

Ronnie’s lobbying also influenced the Rudd Government to provide $150 million to boost organ donation awareness in 2008.

FRIENDS R4
When one of Ronnie’s Rotary mates and, around the same time, a dental colleague, both developed leukaemia, Ronnie decided to do something about research into cancers of the blood. As he said, “That’s what friends are for”. So in honour of his friends, he established the Friends R4 Trust in 2008. This fund initially raised $90,000 and with matching grants supported successful research at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre into new anti-cancer medications with fewer side effects.

Friends R4 later went on to fund research at various major Melbourne hospitals into other forms of cancer and childhood cancer treatments. Ronnie had declared war on cancer. Over the years, he talked with many people about research into melanoma, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and so on.

OTHER DISEASES
And he didn’t stop there. Over the last few months of his life, Ronnie had been talking with people at the Howard Florey Institute about doing research into nerve regeneration techniques with the ultimate aim of curing multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you here today who donated so generously to the various projects that Ronnie established.

AWARDS & HONOURS
In the 2006 Australia Day Honours List, Dr Roland GOLDBERG was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to community health, particularly in support of Rotary International projects.

Ronnie was once nominated to be the Australian of the Year and he was twice recognised by Rotary International as a Paul Harris Fellow.

In 2012, the Victorian Branch of the Australian Dental Association presented him with a Dentistry Achievement Award in recognition of his special service to dentistry.

When he retired from dental practice in 2013, the Hobsons Bay City Council presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation for his 50 years of service to the local community.

Ronnie deserved all the awards and recognitions that he received.

CONCLUSION
All who knew him are saddened by his passing after such a brief but cruel illness. On behalf of the members of the Rotary Club of Williamstown and the wider world of Rotary, I offer heartfelt condolences to Annette, his brother Norman and all the family.

Ronnie enriched our lives:

With his outrageous sense of humour, he made us laugh With his energy and vision, he inspired us. With his care and compassion, he moved us. He made the world a happier place, and a better place, for so many people. His legacy is truly great.                                                                                                                                                                                 

We will all miss him.  

Shalom my friend. Ronnie. Shalom.