For the third day in a row, Pittsburgh served as the solemn site of funerals for some of the 11 worshipers killed Saturday in the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
Three more victims were laid to rest Thursday — Sylvan Simon, 86, and his wife, Bernice, 84, of Wilkinsburg, and Richard Gottfried, 65, of Ross.
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Seats were filled with hundreds of mourners at the Ralph Schugar Chapel, where visitation services for Sylvan, 86, and Bernice Simon, 84, took place between 11 and noon.
The Simons, of Wilkinsburg, were married 62 years ago in the Tree of Life synagogue during a candlelight ceremony in 1956. On Saturday, they were among the 11 worshipers killed inside the same synagogue after a gunman opened fire.
The Simons’ caskets were positioned at the front of chapel, with an American flag draped on the casket of Mr. Simons, who was a veteran.
Numerous family members paid tribute to the Simons, saying they should be remembered not for how they died but for their warm and welcoming spirit, their sense of humor, and their dedication to each other and their synagogue.
They set an example for all as a "beacon of light to shine throughout the world," which can ultimately "mitigate and eliminate the hate that led to their untimely deaths," said their son, Marc Simon.
The Simons' adult children paid tribute to their parents' commitment to their family and their faith, and their grandchildren recalled visits with "Bobie" (Grandma) and "Zadie" (Grandpa). They recalled Bobie singing songs like "A Bushel and a Peck" and "You are My Sunshine" when they were young.
Daughter Michelle Simon Weis said she would miss her regular trips to Costco with her mother, who would always be sure to try the food samples. And she dreamed of her father now able to drive a sports car "as fast as he wants," without "Mom telling him to slow down."
One family member recalled Sylvan Simon in his living room chair, watching the Pirates on TV, and asking Bernice to make him a sandwich.
"Make it yourself," she'd reply, to which he'd say, "But you make it better."
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived Saturday’s shooting, recalled the Simons were dedicated attendees at Shabbat, and he always saw the couple's vehicle already parked outside Tree of Life before he arrived. Sylvan, and sometimes Bernice, would take part in the L'Chaim club, which enjoyed a libation after Shabbat services and before the shared meal. (For Sylvan, who only "drank American," it would be a shot of Jim Beam, Rabbi Myers said.)
Sylvan was particularly moved when, being no longer able to lift up the Torah after its reading on Shabbat due to its weight, was provided a lighter one so he could fulfill that high point in the service.
Sylvan and Bernice had persevered even amid the grief of losing a son to a motorcycle accident.
When family members had to go to their home to gather items for their funerals, they found the kitchen stocked for a planned family birthday party that weekend.
"Our lives were shattered" on Saturday when they were "senselessly, brutally and savagely murdered," son Marc said, in the "exact same chapel where they were wed."
"What my mother and father witnessed is utterly unspeakable," he said. "There are no words in the English language" to express the family's "shock, grief and pain."
Son Marc thanked the police and many other first responders to Saturday's shootings. "I am confident and have no doubt that proper justice will be serviced," he said. "We as a caring community will only become stronger."
Dani Dayan, Israeli consul-general to New York, came to express the shared grief of Israelis with American Jews. He said there will be the need to speak out against anti-Semitism, but "we are entitled these days, this week, to be silent, to bow our heads, to recite in our hearts silent Jewish prayer, and yes, to shed tears."
— Peter Smith
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So many people came to honor Richard Gottfried and offer condolences to his family that they couldn’t all fit into Ralph Schugar Funeral Home on Thursday.
Mourners lined up out the door during the two-hour visitation, and the line still wrapped around the block by the time the service started at 4 p.m.
“He was a wonderful man,” said Midge Beachem, a neighbor of Dr. Gottfried in Ross.
With his wife, Peg Durachko, Dr. Gottfried, 65, had for decades operated a dental practice in Ross. They both volunteered at Catholic Charities free dental clinic and, since 2011, worked part-time staff at the Squirrel Hill Medical Center’s dental clinic on Browns Hill Road, where they provided dental care to refugees and immigrants, many of whom had never seen a dentist.
Ms. Beachem said Dr. Gottfried and Dr. Durachko, a Catholic, led the pre-marriage counseling sessions at St. Athanasius Catholic Church in West View. Their marriage and their respective faiths were so strong that they were invited to work with other couple to prepare them before their weddings.
“They were very strong and very dedicated,” Ms. Beachem said.
An avid runner, she said Dr. Gottfried would wave as he jogged past her house five doors down from his own. He and his wife were talking about retirement.
A lot of people always noticed Dr. Gottfried’s “nice smile,” said Ms. Beachem’s husband, Jim.
“It’s just a terrible day today,” he said. “Obviously, Saturday was the worst day.”
— Elizabeth Behrman
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Peter Smith: petersmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416; Twitter @PG_PeterSmith. Elizabeth Behrman: Lbehrman@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1590 or @Ebehrman on Twitter.
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On Friday
▪ Rose Mallinger, 97, of Squirrel Hill — Services begin at 1 p.m. at Congregation Rodef Shalom, Shadyside.
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▪ Joyce Fienberg, 75, of Oakland — Services begin at 10 a.m. at Beth Shalom on Beacon Street in Squirrel Hill.
▪ Irving Younger, 69, of Mount Washington — Services begin at 1 p.m. at Congregation Rodef Shalom, Fifth Avenue in Shadyside.
▪ Melvin Wax, 87, of Squirrel Hill — Services begin at 1 p.m. at Ralph Schugar Chapel, Shadyside.
▪ Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66, of Edgewood
▪ Brothers Cecil, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54, of Squirrel Hill.
▪ A private service was held Tuesday for victim Daniel Stein, 71, of Squirrel Hill.
First Published: November 1, 2018, 10:10 a.m.
Updated: November 2, 2018, 11:09 a.m.
