In the past week my world and that of many close friends lost two very special people. George Reinhart, z”l, of Montreal was 90 and Sarah Mina Katz, z”l, had celebrated her 98th birthday surrounded by her family just a few months ago. George was the father and father-in-law of Hank and Zahava Reinhart. Mina, better known as Bubbie to practically everyone who knew her, was the mother and mother-in-law of Simcha and Pesh Katz, Charlotte Abramson (the late Bob), and Norman and Andrea, who reside in Boston. I am only referring to the local community members that many of us know so well.
Bubbie Katz, who was deeply loved by her many children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, only knew how to be kind and caring. Only 57 years ago she and her late husband made my Mordechai and me sheva brachot just three days after we were married. She often referred to my Mordechai as her “boychick” and never ceased telling me each time I visited her how she loved him, and then I would hear about how he would ride his bike over to their home in Chelsea all the way from his parents home in Malden.
At that time, “Steven and Marvin” developed a long and lasting friendship, and she shadowed love on me as well when I became a member of the Glick clan.
One might wonder what the secret of Bubbie Katz was that made her so special to so many. For one thing she never complained and always saw the positive in everything. She was bright and alert until just a few weeks ago. Frequently she could be found reading a novel or the newspaper, and she liked to follow the news on TV (she loved to read The Jewish Link). She was the Rummy Q queen at the Fountainview, where she resided for the past number of years. She was non judgmental and embraced life with a twinkle in her eye that remained with her at least until the last time that I visited her about two weeks ago. She always asked, “How are de children?” She wanted a complete report and loved pictures. “Nina,” she would say, “How are you? I loved your Mordechai.”
I would tell myself that by spending more time with her I would learn the secret ingredient of her total positivity. At her levaya I watched and listened to the wrenching tears and sobs displayed by her grandchildren. I also loved her as if she was my very own family member. She had the power of making those around her feel special, always with that glint in her eye.
How is it that a woman who arrived here from Europe with her husband and young son and nothing else was able to overcome such adversity and become a beacon to so many? On one of my last visits with Bubbie, and she was well aware of the fact that she was nearing her dying days, I asked her if she would please find my Mordechai in Shamayim and take care of him for me, and she looked at me with her gorgeous blue eyes and said that she would.
I will never forget her and wish that I could tell her just one more time how her “boychick” from Malden loved her and how I am so grateful for the fact that she embraced me as my loving Bubbie as well.
George Reinhart, beloved husband of Gloria for the past 69 years, was instrumental in our being in Montreal. He was on the rabbinic search committee when we were chosen to be the new rabbi and rebbetzin at the Young Israel of Val Royal in Montreal in 1970. He and Gloria personified a young and then old couple that perpetually loved each other. Gloria just told me last week, “Nina, you and I got the very best.” Often she commented on how she never in her entire life had one day that she and George did not love each other with deep conviction.
As George aged, his devotion to Yiddishkeit became even stronger, with daily learning which he would never miss. He had his group of friends that he learned daf yomi with and he loved to hear words of wisdom from various rabbonim.
His great pride in his children and grandchildren was something that he spoke of constantly. He had a pristine reputation as an amazing businessman whose kindness superseded his desire to “make a buck.” Successful in business, self taught, he treated his employees as family. In reading one of their tributes to him one realized who George was. One of his employees wrote, “Mr. Reinhart, you were an example for me as to how to be successful and still be human. You treated me the way every employee should be treated, with respect and dignity. I will never forget all these hours spent in your office, having all these discussions. The way you gave me freedom and confidence enough to allow me to work on my own and make my own decisions. I will never be able to thank you enough for the good working atmosphere you provided for me day after day.”
He was known to never treat anyone with disrespect. He loved Shari and Nick, Marshall and Theresa, and Zahava and Hank, and he would always repeat stories about how special they were. Nothing could compare to the nachat he derived from his grandchildren. Whether they were Hank and Zahava’s children or Shari’s children he would share many stories about how much they meant to him.
Honestly I believe that a significant part of George’s heart died on the day five months ago when his eldest daughter Sabrina was hit by a car and died instantly. How is it possible for any parent to recover from such a tragedy? His goal was to visit her kever in Eretz Yisroel at the end of August together with Gloria and Hank and Zahava. Unfortunately he was never able to reach that dream. Instead he and Sabrina have been reunited in Shamayim and perhaps that was the plan of Hashem to have them together as father and daughter once again.
We will never forget both Sorah Mina Katz and Gershon Eliyahu Reinhart, whose memories and good deeds will be carried on by their beautiful children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. May their memories be for a blessing.
By Nina Glick
