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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
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LYNN ROSENTHAL