She defined her death as she defined her life, with generosity, dignity, grace and style.
(And sure, some boogie, too!)
When we were kids, Jessie could always throw together something fabulous, a meal, a party, a problem-solving strategy. We called it doing a Jessie.
Now, at the end of her life, she is doing another Jessie. On March 17, 2022, she wrote this email with the subject line “Loving Thoughts” to her family and friends. Since then there have been so many poignant and insightful responses and we (Jessie of course too) have been so comforted, amidst the forest of grief growing around us, by all of these lovely and typically untypical letters.
So as this celebration of life began before her death, we’ve now turned away from organizing a gathering in her absence to instead sharing the messages that you have written. We have read these to Jessie already. The authors have given their permission to share them here. Jessie enjoyed seeing them gathered online, and definitely approved of having this site. We hope that this can in some small way be a comfort to you, as it has been to us.
If you are so inclined, it was Jessie’s wish to support the Yiddish Book Center which had a very special place in her heart. Click here to learn more.
RIP Jessie 1933 – 2022.