Sadly, I lost two dear friends in the last week.
First, I went to the wake and Catholic funeral Mass of Father Joseph Korabik, C.R. (Congregation of the Resurrection). Fr. Joe, 97, was one of three Catholic priests, including my uncle, Father Stanislaus Gembala, C.R., who concelebrated my parents’ wedding 60 years ago in June.
A few days later, I went to the memorial service for Beryl Harrison, a dear Jewish neighbor, who was 79. It was my first experience with a Jewish funeral service and the Shiva afterwards. Being a Roman Catholic, I have to tell you, I was a little concerned that I’d be like a fish out of water at Beryl’s funeral. I had no idea what to expect and was concerned of committing a faux pas. But I think I made it through without offending anybody.
While the rituals performed by the two religions are quite different, the intentions of the mourners are the same. We may be on different teams, but we’re all in the same league. Beyond that, I want to say that as we get older we find ourselves losing more and more of the people who were role models in our lives, people who taught us by their example what it takes to be a good person. We become aware that it’s our turn to pass on the lessons we learned from those good people.
— Barbara Gembala Nakanishi, Niles
