New Thing 71, New Thing Every Day: Attend and Speak at a Jewish Funeral

Today I attended and spoke at the funeral for my stepfather, Sam Wurtzel. It really was not that different from the countless Christian funerals I have been to (and at which I have spoken). It was interesting, though, and the rabbi did a good job of honoring Sam.

Here is what I had to say about Sam...

When my dad died, my mom said she would never date, and she didn’t. Plenty of good men asked, but the answer was always no. Years went by, and the answer was no.

Then my mom went on a cruise with her girlfriends, and she called me when she got home. She was nervous. She was nervous as she told me that she had met somebody. She had met a man. She had met a special man and they were kind of seeing each other. That was my introduction to Sam Wurtzel, a man I would get to know better and better over the next several years.

Here is what I know about Sam Wurtzel.

I know that Sam was smart, and successful, and funny in a corny way that could occasionally be irritating. I know that Sam knew an awful lot, and that he knew he knew a lot, and that he wanted to share what he knew with us, whether we wanted him to or not; and that we were generally better off when we listened.

Perhaps Sam’s most distinguishing characteristic, though, was his generosity. I have been fortunate to know a lot of people with a pretty amazing capacity for generosity, and Sam Wurtzel very well may be the most generous person I have ever known. I have seen Sam’s generosity with charities; I have seen Sam’s generosity with friends and family; I have seen Sam’s generosity with total strangers. Sam Wurtzel was a generous, generous man.

These are not, however, the things I am going to remember most about Sam Wurtzel. Honestly, and this may sound funny to you, what I am going to remember most about Sam Wurtzel is not really about Sam at all. It is about my mother, Sam’s wife, and it is this – in the 46 years I have known my mother, I have never seen her as happy as she was with Sam. Sam made my mom so totally happy. He made her absolutely light up, and it was a joy to see. It was a gift that he gave her. It was a gift he gave my whole family. I am grateful to Sam for that, for the light he brought into our lives, for the pure joy he gave to my mother, and to so many throughout his 80 years on this earth.

Thank you, Sam. You made a difference in this life. We love you. You are missed.