Goodbye, Jerry

Jerry's Plaque Installed at Unitarian Church in Westport

Mom informs me that the plaque is now installed on the place where we scattered some of Dad's cremains in the Memorial Garden of the Unitarian Church in Westport. Mom plans to see it for the first time this weekend.

— Doug Davidoff

John's Eulogy for Jerry

A while back, I published a link to a PDF download of my eulogy for Dad.

Since then, my brother, John Davidoff, published his eulogy on the blog for his business, Davidoff Communications in Chicago.

This is a link to John's eulogy. It's accompanied by a great photo of Dad and John, shown below.

Some of what John wrote:

Hi Dad. It’s John. “Big John!” as you bellowed out my whole life...

I have been taking stock of my own life, in relationship to yours, and reflecting on where I go from here … in carrying out the part of your legacy that is mine now to move forward.

Dad, I thank you. You were a warrior of the heart and an amazing romantic and dreamer. I will never forget when, just ten years old, you led our family all the way to Paris, to the Louvre, to stand below one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world -- the Winged Victory –- that all powerful feminine tribute to a sea battle…where you, Dad, told Doug and me of your wish that we would see “her … the Victoire” every morning on our way to school such that we would grow up to be strong and confident men. What an impression that has made on my life … still, here and now, almost forty years later.

It was a good eulogy, John.

— Doug Davidoff

Poem: Aunt Clara

Dad loved this poem, and the Rev. Olivia Holmes found the words. (It has its racy moments.)

-- Doug Davidoff

Poem: Sea Fever

John Davidoff and Dad's friend Frances Sink are both quite fond of "Sea Fever," a poem by John Masefield (1878-1967), who was English poet laureate from 1930-1967.

Jacki Davidoff read this poem during Dad's memorial Service on November 28.

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

It is a pleasure to post this poem.

-- Doug Davidoff

Right on Cue, The New York Times Profiles Jerry's Boyhood Neighborhood of Sunnyside Gardens in Queens, New York

Photo of kitchen/dining area of unit at Sunnyside Gardens in Queens, New York, shows courtyard allowing this unit to relate to other units on the block. (Photo by Tina Fineberg for the New York Times.)

There are not many people around these days who knew Dad when he was a kid. But leave it to The New York Times to help us fill in this gap. On Sunday, November 29 -- the day after Dad's memorial service -- the newspaper published an article about a young couple and their daughter who make their home in Sunnyside Gardens, the groundbreaking urban design that Dad's parents, Bernie and Mildred, chose for their home in the 1920s and 1930s.

There's an NYT slide show of the Simonson-Nover unit. I especially like Photo #4, reproduced above, which shows the social relationships possible in these units, which backed up into a central courtyard. It's good to see that after 85 years, the units are being used for young families -- just as Dad's parents did when the development first opened.

It's fun to imagine Bernie, Mildred, and their two boys in a unit similar to the Simonson-Nover unit.

Wikipedia also has an article about Sunnyside, the neighborhood in Queens of which Sunnyside Gardens (another Wikipedia article) is a component.

Order of Service for Celebration of Jerry's Life

Read the order of service for Jerry's Celebration of Life on Saturday, November 28 [PDF download].

The cover photo was taken by John Hooper aboard Civil Liberties in 2003.

-- Doug Davidoff

Doug's Eulogy for Jerry

My eulogy for Dad is entitled, "For the Love Which From Our Birth, Over and Around Us Lies," taken from the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth."

Download PDF of Doug's eulogy for Jerry.

-- Doug Davidoff