The Man Of Steel - My Grandpa

At his 90th birthday dinner.

As our Mommas Pearls theme this week is tapping into our inner superhero, I am honored to share with you the memories of a man who was a true life superhero. My grandfather, Morris, who held the superpowers of endurance, love, faith, wit, humor and the sheer will to live. 

98 years ago on 11-12-13, my grandfather, was born. He passed in 2009 and today would have been his 98th birthday.  In many ways he still is here. He lives on through his family. His memory burns bright in our hearts and minds.

His wits kept him alive through the most horrid conditions in surviving the Holocaust. His faith was his coat of arms and being Jewish was a badge of honor. His endurance kept him running marathons well into his 80's and his creed was if you took care of your body it will take care of you. His love of his family was his greatest and most prized possession. And he was one of the funniest mo fo's around! With our without his vodka shnopps he'd have us all rolling with his jokes and his stories. I adored him and my grandma, his Hannela. They were the cutest people ever to have graced this plane.

In honoring my grandfather on the 3rd anniversary of his passing and in remembering my ancestors, for he was the last of the Mohicans of my grandparents to pass (endurance!), I'm honored to share my eulogy from his funeral service filled with his pearls of wisdom and the mantras for life of one of the world's best superheros.

My grandpa, Chief Morris in costume at my sister & I's major Halloween Birthday Bash, replete with his tom tom tuppleware drum!

I am honored to stand here before you as the first grandchild of Morris Gerkowitz on behalf of all his grandchildren.

My grandfather was the man of steel. He had a slender frame but endured so much in his lifetime. He is the consummate model of survival, endurance and independence.

While he lived such a long and storied life he was the simplest person. He loved his family, his Jewish heritage, his sports and lived his life with Honor, Integrity and a Jewish Heart.

                                                                               

He stayed active all his life and kept tabs on my health and fitness routine. He ran marathons well into his 80's and there was the mini-hall of fame in Grandpa’s backroom covered with newspaper clippings, trophies and medals from his various marathons and gymnastic achievements. He was so proud to show them off and each time you went back there it was like the first time you saw them. It was just so awesome to hear this champion remember his winnings, time in the circus as a gymnast and his races.

He had a wicked sense of humor and loved telling jokes. Our whole family loves to take turns in the spot light. When he turned 92, I started to joke with him that he was finally starting to act his age. Before then, my grandparents would joke about other old people and never considered themselves elderly.  They were both so proud to be independent and remained so up until the end. His laugh was as infectious as his sense of humor and I will remember it always.

He cared little for material things or earthly possessions and lived by the notion that "you eat to live and not live to eat." Something which runs counter to my personal feelings but which I admired in him as yet another showcase of his discipline.

The value he placed in being Jewish was priceless. He loved his heritage and closely followed all the achievements of the Jewish people. He saved newspaper clippings with prominent Jewish and world events and wholeheartedly believed that the world’s greatest thinkers and inventors were all Jewish. We are a remarkable race. He was kind of like the dad in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", but for Jews.

His affinity for being Jewish perplexed me as he'd recount memories of being a young man who was frequently beat up and ganged up on for being Jewish in anti-semetic Poland and because of his religion he lost his life in Poland and underwent long hellish years during the Holocaust. Yet, his religious faith and his love for my grandmother, his soul mate, whom he married 3 times, pulled him through.

I love the story of how when they were surviving in Russia, he got separated from my grandmother and forced to be a medic in the field for the army and figured out he would charge for services until he saved enough to bribe the authorities to let him go, and he went in search of my grandmother.

He clung to his heritage as his way of perpetuating it and ingraining it in his family. The holidays were a blast with him especially Passover when he would adlib the Sedar stories with the real story behind the story which he’d wrap up each quatrain with “okay, that’s it.”

He was definitely an orator and loved engaging in philosophical conversations and had a wonderful intriguing perspective on world events. He read the papers every day, had a sharp mental acuity and was proud to have been a contributor to the Jewish Forward.

I always looked forward to hearing his speeches at the family events. He carefully crafted the speeches and actually saved all the speeches he made for his family’s memorable occasions. A great archive now for us to have.

Holding a photo of his soon to be 1st great-

grandchild

He was enormously proud of his family, his grandchildren and his growing line of great-grandchildren. We represented the future which he never thought he'd see.

My grandparents would crack me up with tales of the younger years with his 3 daughters and you can see his pride when he spoke of them and their mischief. He loved my dad, like a son and dad, he was so grateful for you being there this past year.  He completely adored all his grandchildren, and couldn’t be prouder. He thought my sister and I did well with our selection of men.

with my daughter at my grandma's shiva

He certainly gave credence to the “great” in being a great-grandparent to my children and loved that the torch in the relay race of his family is continuing onto another generation.

My grandfather loved it when I brought my kids over and would play the piano with them. That was the cutest thing ever to witness. He was teaching them the same tunes he taught me throughout my life, called himself Mozart and loved watching them dance. I look forward to them playing these tunes to my children as they grow up.

While he loved us all dearly there was no one who stood before my grandma and his beloved wife, Hannah. They had googly eyes for eachother for as long as I knew them and were such flirts.  The longevity of their love and adulation of eachother is admirable. They lived one of the greatest love stories of all time.

We all knew that when one passed the other would be soon to follow as this was the tie that bonded them and kept them alive throughout all their years. So off into the light they go to be re-connected with the family and loved ones they left behind so many years ago and who they firmly believed always watched over and protected our family.

He was the last of my grandparents to pass. A great chapter in my family has concluded. It’s very strange to think of all my grandparents in the past tense, especially my mom’s parents. They were always there throughout my life. It was my little grandma and my grandpa who loved his vodka schnapps.

He promised to look over us and we talked about what his symbol would be to me so I would know he’s around I said, all you need to do is laugh. He laughed and then thought seriously and said, "whenever you are outside and its about to rain I will keep it from raining until you are safe inside." This from a man who all his life has danced between the raindrops.

He was a fighter to the very end and one of my last talks with him I asked what he’d want everyone to know and it was simple, “I love my family, each one equally, and that’s it.”

Back at ya grandpa, I love you.

Happy birthday. :)