Last edit of this page 2021.DEC.26.
Written by Gary Simon 2015.DEC.13. This was edited 2016.JAN.13, 2021.JAN.31, and again 2021.DEC.26.
Cousin Maury died today. Gone. Someone I’d known since childhood. I’m sad, I’m troubled, but I don’t know any way to create any meaning out of this.
Maury was the son of Nate, my father’s brother. Nate was a very smart man, an extreme Jewish partisan, with loyalty to Jews his most pressing concern. He was at times a sucker for Jewish charities, including marginal yeshivas in Israel. His home was kosher, and I thought of his ritual observances as automatic rather than thoughtful.
Nate started the family business, a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership, along with auto parts, gasoline, and servicing. He took in my father, Abe, as a junior partner.
Nate married Ruth, a beautiful local girl. A short conversation with her would reveal sweetness and kindness. Their first child, Carol, was also tender. Their second child was Maury, whom I wish I knew better.
Maury and his family lived on the other side of the river, so we did not go to the same schools. Maury went to college and for a bit thereafter worked with his father and, of course, with my father.
Maury took a job with an automobile parts firm in Philadelphia. He met his wife Sharon there. Their union produced a son, Scott. After a time, they divorced, likely on unfriendly terms. Scott stayed with his mother, changed his last name, and has distanced from the family. He responds infrequently to other family members.
A couple of years later, Maury married Chris, who was not Jewish. They had a son Marc, who is an exact young copy of Maury. That marriage also ended in divorce, with Chris getting custody of Marc. Maury and Chris did not remain in contact. Marc has kept good relations with both of them, and has been totally loyal to Maury. Marc considers himself a Christian. Marc is career Army.
Maury moved to Ohio for an opportunity with an auto parts business in the Cleveland area. Two very important things happened to him. He became more religious and joined an orthodox synagogue in South Euclid. He also met a nice Jewish woman, Linda Kass, and they lived together. Like Maury, Linda had children from a previous relationship.
His religious devotion resembled his father’s. He was a Jewish advocate, he was generally observant of Jewish customs. He was even a president of his congregation.
It’s possible that the congregation deemed it inappropriate that a religious Jew and a congregation president would be living with a woman who was not his wife. In 2009, Maury and Linda were married in a formal orthodox wedding. The men of the congregation gathered to approve the katubah, the wedding contract. The bride walked seven times around the groom. The reception was held at a kosher restaurant. It was a beautiful event.
Maury and I were in occasional contact, but I cannot recall any substantive aspects of our conversations.
In June of 2015, Maury had a nasty accident. He fell from a ladder while cleaning leaves from the gutters of his house. Linda had advised him that 72-year-old gentlemen should not be cleaning gutters. The complications of that fall put him in a coma for a while, leading to lung congestion, and soon breathing tubes and feeding tubes. His son Marc came to Cleveland to be with him. As a military medic, Marc had relevant training. Maury’s 73rd birthday came and went. The lung congestion eased and returned, but Maury seemed to improve a bit in November. He was alert enough to watch television, but talking was badly compromised by his medical hardware.
Updates on Maury’s condition came through Marc’s Facebook page. The updates were very much appreciated.
While Maury was under care, I called Linda. She was in difficult circumstances. I mentioned that it would probably be a good idea to contact an eldercare attorney. After all, if Maury moved to a nursing home, the impact on their joint finances would be extreme. Linda was ahead of me on this one; she had already consulted with an attorney. And then she gave me the only good news in this entire story. “Oh, actually my assets are all safe. You see, Maury and I were not legally married. We just had a religious ceremony that was not reported to the state of Ohio.”
On the morning of December 13, 2015, we got a phone call from Maury’s nephew Paul. He had passed away. The note appeared soon afterward on Marc’s Facebook page.
If there was prompt information about a funeral, we might have flown to Ohio. Confusion seemed to overwhelm, and we were informed too late.
And thus there are condolences to all. I’m not sure what any of this means. I’m also not sure what memories or emotions will carry forward to the future.
Before Maury’s fall, he and Linda had planned to move to North Carolina. Linda went alone. Marc will likely return to his employment in Florida. Scott knows of his father’s death.
Linda passed away from cancer in 2020. She and Maury will rest together at Zion Memorial Park near Cleveland.
Here is the obituary from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
SIMON MAURICE J. SIMON, age 73, died December 13, 2015. Devoted father of Marc Simon and Scott Waynebern; loving companion of Linda Kass; step-father of Michael (Leah) Deverey, Lisa (Larry) Spiwak, Melissa (Richard) Schneeweis, Patti Sabonaro, Edwin Horton and Kathleen Horton; dear brother of Carol Rosenblatt; adored grandfather and great-grandfather; loving uncle and great-uncle. Services will be held at BERKOWITZ-KUMIN-BOOKATZ MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 1985 S. TAYLOR RD., CLEVELAND HTS., on Wednesday, December 16 at 2 PM. Interment Zion Memorial Park (Oheb Zedek Cedar Sinai Synagogue section). Following burial the family will receive friends WEDNESDAY ONLY at the residence of Rivianne and Meryl Feinberg, 5277 Chickadee Ln., Lyndhurst. Contributions to Cedar Sinai Synagogue or Green Road Synagogue.
Published in The Plain Dealer from Dec. 14 to Dec. 16, 2015- See more at: http://obits.cleveland.com/obituaries/cleveland/obituary.aspx?n=maurice-j-simon&pid=176892127&fhid=2098#sthash.ljs7d7GW.dpuf
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