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intimate site between two small hills where visitors can 
reflect about the statue and the story. Although it can be 
seen from the pathway joining the statuary throughout 
the park, there will be a feeling that it is guarded. Earlier, 
it was placed in a site in England. 
 
AN ENDURING LEGACY 
“
After my father passed away in 2013, my sister and I 
decided that we wanted to use a portion of [his bequest] 
for projects dealing with antisemitism, racism and 
hatred,
” said Steve Pestka, who was regularly reminded of 
the massive loss of paternal family whenever he saw the 
concentration camp number tattooed on his father’s arm. 
“What happened to our father’s family left an impres-
sion on us that we lived with our whole lives. We want-
ed to see if there was something we could do about it 
because of Holocaust denial and revisionism that contin-
ues. We want to help make sure people don’t forget what 

Details
The dedication of Ways to 
Say Goodbye will begin 
at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 
30, at the Frederik Meijer 
Gardens & Sculpture Park, 
1000 E. Beltline Ave., Grand 
Rapids. There is no admis-
sion fee, but reservations 
are required by accessing 
jewishgrandrapids.org. 
Information: (616) 942-5553, 
ext. 207.

