Saturday, November 11, 2017

Unveiling Rena Moyer's Gravestone

Unveiling Rena's Gravestone. Milton, GA (north of Atlanta), 11 November 2017
Today, in accordance with the Jewish custom to unveil the gravestone a year after death, family members and friends of Rena Moyers gathered at the Milton Fields Green Cemetery, north of Atlanta, to remember and celebrate her life. Her husband, David Moyers, her mother and father Vi and Ira Glickstein, her sister Lisa Glickstein, her nieces Michaela and Samantha Hagler, and brother-in-law Jerry Hagler were joined by Rena's caretaker Harriet Frempong and her husband Yaw.

The service was beautifully conducted by Chaplain Lamora of Tranquility Center at Cobb Hospice in Austell, GA. Like Rena's life, which ended all too soon at the age of 49, the service was brief but so very meaningful. It is said that a good entertainer always leaves the audience wanting more. A great one packs more meaning into fewer moments. Chaplain Lamora read several traditional Hebrew blessings (in English) and recalled her memories of Rena during her time in Hospice. Rena's mother, Vi, and her husband David, and others, made brief comments, and Samantha read a poem that Lisa thoughtfully brought along.

There was a slight chill in the air, but it was a beautiful day at the Milton Fields Green Cemetery. As the photos indicate, Milton Fields is a very green "natural burial ground" with flat, horizontal grave markers rather than vertical headstones.

Last year, during the week of her passing, the following seven Blog postings recalled some of the highlights of Rena's life, as a sort of virtual "sitting shiva". According to Wikipedia, Shiva (Hebrew: שבעה‎‎, literally "seven") is the week-long mourning period for first-degree relatives. The ritual is referred to as "sitting shiva". According to Jewish law, we assume the status of "avel" (Hebrew: אבל; "mourner"). This state lasts for seven days, during which family members traditionally gather and receive visitors.

In our modern times, when families live all over the US and the World, and where literal belief is scarce, it isn't really practical for first-degree relations to sit around on couches in the living room for a week wearing slippers. Therefore, I thought it fitting for those closest to the deceased to make a special effort to remember her (at least) during the week of her departure.

September 11, 2016 - Rena passed away
1) September 12, 2016 - Rest In Peace Rena Moyers, Our Adult Child Who Passed Before We Did
2) September 13, 2016 - Mr.and Mrs. David and Rena Moyers - Their Wedding (and Drama Afterwards)
3) September 14, 2016 - Remembering Rena - Growing Up in Rural Upstate New York
4) September 15, 2016 - Remembering Rena - Education and Professional Life - Tale of Three Shirts
5) September 16, 2016 - Mourner's Kaddish for Rena Moyers
6) September 17, 2016 - Remembering Auntie Rena - Five Nieces and Nephews
7) September 18, 2016 - Remembering Rena - We Will Remember You FOREVER

Ira Glickstein


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