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8 | APRIL 30 • 2020 

1942 - 2020

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week
jn

giving thanks
A Random Act of Kindness 
by a Cemetery Worker
O

n Dec. 25, 2018, my beloved mom 
and best friend, Bev Rosenthal, 
passed away. I was inconsolable, as 
was my entire family, especially my father, 
having been married to his best friend for 
over 58.5 years. They were inseparable.
After my mom’
s passing, my father 
would visit her grave almost daily at 
Machpelah Cemetery in Ferndale. It was a 
routine of his that he had not broken until 
this past January, when he took a horrific 
fall on ice, breaking his arm in two places, 
and then had a heart attack right before the 
surgery to repair his broken bones.
I had my own routine of visiting my 
mom at the cemetery until last month 
when the cemetery closed due to the coro-
navirus pandemic.
Last week, I called Machpelah to inquire 
when they thought they may re-open, so 
I could continue visiting my mom’
s grave 
and take my dad with me, as he missed 
his daily visits terribly. I spoke with Kim 
Saville, who couldn’
t have been more 
understanding, sympathetic and kind.
Ms. Saville explained they did not have 
a date yet to reopen to the public, and she 
then listened to me tell her about my dad 
and his daily visits to his wife’
s grave. All of 
a sudden, Ms. Saville excitedly said, “Oh! I 
know your dad! He comes daily to see your 

mom. He’
s a sweetheart! I clean the snow 
off the bench for him, as he’
s here daily. Is 
he OK?”
I then explained what transpired with 
my dad: his fall, broken arm and heart 
attack. I reassured her he was OK and 
recovering at home. I explained I would 
visit my mom and that I wished I could 
take my dad to see her in the near future, 
but I totally understood and respected their 
reasons for closing off the cemetery to the 
public. 
 Ms. Saville then went so far as to offer to 
send me a photo of my mom’
s grave site via 
email, and she asked if she could send my 
dad a get-well card, too. I was shocked and 
surprised that someone would actually go 

out of their way to do this, and I graciously 
accepted her kind offer.
A few hours later I received a phone call 
from my dad. He explained that someone 
came to his door and handed him a card 
and an 8 by 10-inch photo of Mom’
s grave 
site! He couldn’
t believe it. He was so 
touched by this gesture, as was I.
I told him about my conversation with 
Ms. Saville earlier that day, and he said, 
“Yes, she said she spoke with you and just 
wanted to drop off the card and photo per-
sonally.
” I had tears in my eyes as my dad 
was describing this to me. (He was choked 
up, too.)
I love to perform Random Acts of 
Kindness periodically, and when someone 
else practices this same ritual, especially 
for my dad, I can’
t tell you how much that 
means. I was touched beyond words. I 
immediately got on my computer and sent 
Ms. Saville an email thanking her profusely 
for her incredibly kind act.
In times of such uncertainty, stress and 
selfishness in this world, there are human 
beings who just want to make a difference 
and do something nice for others. If there 
were more “Kim Savilles” in this world, it 
sure would be a different place.

— Lynn Rosenthal 

Oak Park 

Arthur M. Horwitz
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LYNN ROSENTHAL

