Shmuel Mantinband Eulogy
Dad, none of us can last forever, but you always seemed to come back from every adversity and hardship. We planned on your coming back this time, too…
If it was the terrible traffic accident in 1959 when it was unsure if you would survive.
If it was ending of employment opportunities in the oil industry just as you completed your studies because almost all geological work moved to Saudi Arabia – not a great place for a nice Jewish boy with 3 little kids.
If it was when you broke your hip – you always came back, you always overcame adversity.
This time, we expected, wanted and prayed you would overcome again, but it was not to be.
Dad, I have to tell you, when my kids told me it was special that I am always ready to drive them around and pick them up – I did not understand what they were talking about. They insisted it was not common among every parent. To me it seemed a normal thing to do. Then I understood, it was something you taught me – you were never too tired to do something for us as kids, always there to help when we needed it.
And of course, that is who you were. How many other parents were willing to spend every Sunday morning at shul during Sunday School directing traffic to help kids get safely to and from their parents’ car to the shul building? But that wasn’t enough – most of the other volunteers ended their volunteering as soon as their children graduated. I was so impressed you kept it up for years afterward.
And that is who you were, caring about your family and children and caring about your community and shul. These were your priorities and I know I learned this from you.
Sharon put together the following from what our children and grandchildren, your grandchildren and great grandchildren, wrote and wanted to say to you even though they could not be here:
It is very rare to get 17 Young Israeli adults to agree so thoroughly about anything, yet when it comes to Zeida, there is total agreement, love and admiration.
When we made Aliyah and moved to Israel, we always felt a twinge of guilt at causing our children to grow up with their grandparents so far away and that Bubbe and Zaide did not get to know their grandchildren as well as they would have liked.
Zaide, you only talked about how proud you were of your Israeli children and grandchildren.
Our kids and grandchildren still developed a wonderful relationship with you and all mentioned and learned from your humility, good nature, sense of family and of course, humor – all of which overcame the barriers of distance.
The kids thank you, Zaide for the life lessons you taught them.
You always treasured family occasions and made every effort to attend – even as it became more and more physically difficult. I remember when you retired at the age of 77 – you told me the only reason was so you would not have to request permission from some government bureaucrat to attend a family simcha.
The kids said, you were always happy and optimistic and your goal was to share that with everyone you met with your good jokes and stories.
You were always prepared to meet that goal, by having all necessary tools at hand. You would start with a clown’s nose in the first case. A harder case might require a free (so called business) card that was good for nothing but a laugh and with really tough cases, you bought them off with a million dollar bill.
At Lital and Tzuki’s wedding, your last trip to Israel when it was very difficult for you to get around…you still got up on the dance floor with your walker to bring joy to the young couple by giving out your special cash to all those dancing. Lital’s friends still talk about how cool you were.
At our smachot, whenever you spoke, Zaide, you would always tell us we were the stars of the day, but not to be upset the following day when we would be forgotten…
You are the star now, Zaide and will never be forgotten. Yhi zichro baruch