Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tombstone Tuesday - Kurt Sax (1922-2012), Rest in Peace

Linda and I attended the "unveiling" of the gravestone of our dear neighbor, Kurt Sax (1922-2012) on Sunday last.


 The gravestone is in the Home of Peace Cemetery in San Diego (on Imperial Avenue, just across the fence from Mount Hope Cemetery).

Kurt died last May and the tradition in his Jewish community (which I was not aware of) is to unveil the gravestone approximately one year after the death.

Kurt and his wife were the oldest remaining residents on our cul-de-sac in Chula Vista, and are dear people.  We are friends with their daughters, and have shared their lives for over 38 years.  Kurt's wife is still living, and we see her often.  Their life stories are fascinating - Kurt was born in Austria and his wife in Czechoslovakia, just across the border from each other.  They survived World War II, although his wife's family was interned for some time.  They came to America in 1949 (I found their passenger list record several years ago on Ancestry.com, and gave them a printout) and eventually settled in San Diego, where they raised their children.  Kurt was a stockbroker at E.F. Hutton for many years.  He was just a sweet man - very happy, friendly, funny, gentle, and considerate.

The rocks placed on the gravestone are another tradition.  We received a heart shaped rock for our presence at the unveiling.  After a short service at the gravesite, the group journeyed to Temple Beth Sholom in Chula Vista for a reception in Kurt's honor, with all of his favorite goodies - nonpareils, lemon cake, chocolate cake, KitKats, etc., along with finger foods and vegetables.  I talked about genealogy with one of the son-in-laws for awhile.

We enjoyed ourselves, and remember Kurt Sax - a wonderful man.  Rest in peace, my friend.

The URL for this post is:  http://www.geneamusings.com/2013/04/tombstone-tuesday-kurt-sax-1922-2012.html

Copyright (c) 2013, Randall J. Seaver

1 comment:

Emily Garber said...

And just for additional info: the Hebrew on the tombstone says, "Hirsch Tzvi son of Shlomo and Sarah." That was Kurt's Hebrew name. The one used when he was honored and called to the Torah to read in synagogue.