Last Will of Jacob Lobel (1889-1960)

written in 1957

As I find myself close to the age of 68 years, I believe itʼs time to arrange the execution
of my will.

It is not a testament that would bequeath any one with valuables or possessions, in that
case I would have to employ an attorney to make it legal, and the aid of the court to
force its execution. Somehow I was lucky enough not to accumulate any money or
other possessions to bequest you, and herewith avoid all the turmoil quarrel and hatred
that inheritance creates among the family. However, even I was unable to leave ready
cash or other valuables for my dear ones, I hope that good luck will be with you and
provide for you all the things to make you happy.

Now I want you to do something for me, and I trust that you will obey my request. First,
I am a member of the Sadagurer Y.M.B.A. [Young Menʼs Benevolent Association] and 2
cemetery plots are reserved for mom and myself after we die. The organization also
provides funeral and burial expense not exceeding 60 dols. The undertaker is
supposed to furnish a casket, shrouds, a hearse, a car for the family to the cemetery,
and the use of the funeral chapel for one day, a watchman for one night, and the grave
opening. With the presen cost of labor the undertaker cannot afford to furnish a funeral
for that money, so they try to talk you in to buy a fancy coffin, expensive shrouds and
other things to make my body comfortable. Here is where I want you to fulfill my desire.
Your should give the undertaker 40 dols. besides what he gets from the society, to
contribute to the extra high cost of labor that they have. By no means you should take a
better coffin than the cheapest that they make, the same goes for shrouds. I want the
cheapest they have. My body will find the same comfort as in the most expensive ones.
However, people not to think of me or my family as misers, depriving me the burial
honours, I request you to donate 75.00 for my favorite charity the Jewish Social Service,
a branch of United Jewish Philanthropies. This will be pleasing to my soul.

(Meditation) As for my funeral oration, I am opposing it strongly. I do not want any

eulogy, benediction, or any kind of exaltations, or any rabbi or professional clergyman to
say anything about me while they never knew me. My path to the hereafter was
designed by me through my deeds during my life. Neither all the rabbis or all clergymen
with exaggerating about me and making a saint of me as they usually do, will exhort the
angel of death to digress my assignment, and this would only make it harder to reach
my destination. Nevertheless, to please my soul I want you to donate another 25.00 for
the Jewish Social Service.

Now I come to you with my ultimate desire. It may sound cruel, but I do not mean it that
way. It is very hard for me in this hour of deep emotional depression to ask you
especially the women; my dear wife, daughter, daughters-in-law, and granddaughter to
avoid wailing. My passing away, whenever it will happen, will be a blessing for my body
and soul. Here are my reasons: up to now, almost 68 years old, I had my share of
reward and enjoyment that a man of my standard could expect. I enjoyed my children,
grandchildren, they have enjoyed my company. Somehow I have tried to make myself
useful, either as baby sitter for my grandchildren or some other way.

Now with age creeping up on me, I feel that I outlived my usefulness. I feel that with
every month I am deteriorating. Traveling falls hard on me, and such pleasant things as
playing with my grandchildren that I always loved, is becoming annoying to me and I
have no more patience for it. This is not the worst yet. Usually with age come more
complications. I dread the thought of them. Therefore I say to you, I donʼt know when
and how I will die. If I will be lucky enough to die independently without being a burden
to my loved ones and the people surrounding me and to myself, I would consider it a
great blessing for myself as well as for you; mostly for you, because you canʼt expect
anything anymore of me to make you feel happier or better. Unproductive, useless for
anything, all I can do is consume another ton of food if I live longer. Of what benefit
would it be to me or anybody else. Thatʼs why I say to you, you should not wail or
lament too much when I depart from you. I had my share of joy; to raise good children
and grandchildren and a rpie age. Now I am ready for the call, whenever it is. If I
should live longer and as usual with the older age come these dreadful helpless
diseases. Then my retirement of life surely will be a blessing for all of you and myself.
Either way you look at it, you donʼt have to wail or lament too much. Younger people
before 65 years itʼs too bad for them to die, but for me it is not bad at all.

Now I want my two sons, Sidney and Leo, to observe 3 days of shivah mourning. I also
seriously request of them not to say any kaddish for me, nor should they hire anyone to
say kaddish. Instead they shall donate 75.00 for the Jewish Social Service. That
applies also with yahrzeit and yizkor. My 2 sons and my daughter if they see each other
once a year it does not matter when, if it is 5 months, 8 or 12 months, as long as it is
once a year. You should try to come together in someoneʼs house and please my soul
with a donation of 5.00 each for the Jewish social service. That sure will please my soul
much more than the kaddish and yizkor.

The provision of kaddish and yizkor is meant for the soul to get to the higher spheres in
heaven. I know my soul will be more pleased and rise higher if you will observe my
desire. Of course my son Leo is far, and may not be able to come down sometimes for
a year or more. In that case he should send his 5.00 contribution to Sid and Mil, and
they will send it together with their contribution. It does not matter in whose name the
contribution is donated. This you will have to decide amongst yourselves. As long as
you will contribute my soul will be pleased. (I did not say kaddish for my folks, but
helped my poor family instead.)

Another thing to please my memory, and of greatest importance, is that you children of
mine keep together all the time. Do not let envy or any other factor create any split
between you, and try to be understanding with each other. I hope that good luck will be
with all of you, but if one or two of you or the third of you should be in need of any
assistance, all of you should try to help each other with the most you can. Your
attachment with each other will serve to me as the highest monument of love.
After I expressed my will what to do for me, I have another request about mom. After
my interment she will remain lonely and helpless. I trust that you children will think of
her and take the proper care of her. She really deserves it. She has tried all the years
since you were born to raise you with the most convenience that she could afford. Her
intentions were always the best for you. Even if they were not pleasing to you, she
fullheartedly meant it for your good. Therefore, do not neglect her after I am gone.
Think of her and come to see her as often as possible, and comfort her the best way
you can. She deserves it.

Now to my beloved wife I want you to forgive me if I have mistreated you during our
married life, for all the misunderstandings we had and my stubbornness against you. I
can assure you I had a very good wife and good mother to our children. Somehow my
ego revolted i me somtimes and we engaged in a quarrel. I forgive you fullheartedly,
and hope you will forgive me too.

To my son Sidney I want to say, you were my first born and my revelation of kin love. I
have enjoyed you from the first moment you were born. Since then you were a steady
source of joy to me. Watching you grow and watching your progress in school,
watching you develop to manhood and wedding you off to a lovely woman, and
presenting me 2 lovely granddaughters; all that compensates me tenfold for the troubles
I went through with you. In fact I had no trouble with you except some illness that was
no fault of your own. Otherwise you were a good baby, good as a boy in school, good
as a man in college and good as a husband and father, good all around. I am proud fo
have such a good son, and hope that good luck is with you, your lovely wife Sophie who
showed so much understanding to us and accepted us with respect and honor as her
own folks and family. And my granddaughter Norma, the first one, entitled me
grandfather. I sure love her as well as my other granddaughter, Adrienne. They were a
real source of joy to me. I only wish good luck takes care of all of you, and if there is
possibility for my soul to remember you anywhere, I sure will do it. Forgive me all, if I
misunderstood you sometimes. I know you had best intentions arguing for your way,
and my intentions contradicting, were also meant for the best.

To my dear son Leo who was born next, I am thankful. With his coming I was enriched
with another measure of love. I am sure love for children and family is issued by a
certain measure; if you have one child you get one measure; if you have two children
you get two measures and so on. You donʼt share the same measure of love to
everyone. This most likely would limit the love or create a partial distribution amongst
children or family. My theory that a new measure of love was given to me with your
birth, enabled me to give you the same love as for your older brother and not deprive
him of any. My compensation from you was also the same as of your brother. You were
lovely as a baby, good as a boy in school, good as a man in college and now good as a
husband and father; good all around to make me proud of you.

I do want to comment a little more about you and lovely Marian. Itʼs true that we were
opposing your marriage at the beginning, not for any objections to Marian; we had
nothing to object against her as a girl. She was good-looking and possessing all the
qualities to make you happy. Our only objection was based on the theory that most
almost 75% of intermarriages turn to be failures for both parties. Therefore we were
against at the beginning. Now, since you are married already 11 years and we see how
well you understand each other and how nice Marian respects us, I want you to know
that we love you and her and your daughter just as well as our other children, and I
hope that if you have any doubt of discriminating against you, you will forget it and
never think of it. I wish you all keep well, good luck, and forgive me if we had any
disagreements.

To my daughter Mildred I want to tell that with her arrival she not only brought another
measure of love in to us, also a change, after having 2 sons a daughter was most
welcome. As the sons, she also was a very good baby, filling our hearts with joy. As a
girl in school her progress was a bliss to us. As a lady, we derived much pleasure of
her, and her choice as a husband was very much pleasing to us. As wife and mother
we are proud of her.

The 3 grandsons she brought us, each one of them were sources of joy and pleasure.
The oldest, Phil, came to us as a refill, after our children were all married and happy
with their spouse, he filled our hearts with love and joy. Because he lived not far from
us, we saw a lot of him and watched him grow from infancy to boyhood. We sure
enjoyed his progress every day till he started school, and we are very happy with his
progress in school. Good luck to him and a happy future.

Her second son Larry brought us new pride. Another grandchild, he was the 4th
grandchild, and as a millionaire is proud with his millions so were we happy with another
grandchild, especially he was such a good baby, and we were younger and able to see
them a couple times a week. We derived the amount of joy from these boys as infants
and now as school boys. May he be blessed with good luck and happiness.

The appearance of the third son Bruce made us feel richer with another million. we
were very happy with his arrival. For one reason he was my 5th million, he also was a
beautiful baby and we again watched the progress of an infant growing and developing.
I did not see him as often as his brothers when they were babies, because I was aolder
and could not travel a few times a week to see him. However, I have got my full
measure of enjoyment out of him. I only hope that the three of them grow up to be lucky
and happy and a pride for their parents.

Again I say that each person receives a new measure of love with each newcomer in
the family. Before I was married I have measures of love for my parents, sisters, and
brothers. After I got married, another measure of love was given to me for my wife.
With the birth of each child a new measure of love was planted in my heart. The same
happened with the birth of each grandchild; new measures of love were given to me for
each one, as well as for the in-laws. This should be as proof to all of you that I had no
favorites amongst my children or grandchildren. I love them all alike, and hope they will
all be happy and lucky.