Celebrate!

For our family, August is THE month for birthdays. In fact, we traditionally celebrate mid-month, with The August Birthday Party, and one fantastic cake--and of course, the traditional sides, such as brats and beer. This year, however, we broke the untraditional tradition. Why? Dad's 80th birthday! We couldn't ignore such a milestone. But, there was something more.

Suddenly, we realized the significance of the past eighty years. We needed to celebrate Dad's achievements; tell him what he meant to us. We needed to thank him for a lifetime of friendship and the wisdom that only those who have truly lived can impart. We hired a small local company, "Memories To Burn" and with their help, produced a video to portray the Dad we know, the Dad we love, the man we call "friend." The family celebrated his Big Day on August 29th at the , attended by family and close friends.

Recently, I received an inspiring story from a dear friend that, for me, underscored the significance of this celebration. The following story describes Ray Waton, a congenial man who, like Dad, influenced his world every day with his generosity and kindness. You may know someone like Dad or Ray. If you have been so fortunate, you know what you need to do. CELEBRATE!

Tribute to Ray Walton by Alice Handelman

We are here today to pay tribute to a dear friend Ray Waton…who I affectionately call Mr. JCA.
 
I first had the pleasure of meeting Ray Waton when he moved into the Jewish Center for Aged in the early 1990s.  Ray and I became fast friends.
 
I learned that he had been a super duper sales person at Boyd’s in Clayton. In fact, my husband was a patron of his as a young man and bragged about Ray’s great customer service.  I learned he had been married for a very short time and that he had no children. I learned about his cousin Ruthie and her children. I also learned that he was an extremely caring person who wanted to make a difference in the lives of others.
 
One day Ray offered to volunteer for the Community Relations  Department at the JCA. I was thrilled… We always needed another set of hands and brains.
 
Ray would help me archive the history of the JCA and once or twice a week would come into my office to cut out articles from the St. Louis Jewish Light and other newspapers and glue them into the JCA archival scrapbook.  
 
When my department began putting on special events and bringing the best of the best to St. Louis, Ray was always there, eager to assist, whether keeping track of reservations or working with my interns to prepare for the events. He was thrilled when Henny Youngman came to the JCA…and Marvin Hamlisch and Morey Amsterdam. And, he attended every event proudly. He loved dressing up for these events. He was at the Ritz with his fellow residents when we brought Jackie Mason to entertain at a fund-raiser and then he assisted me with an event we called “The Leading Men of Broadway”.
 
Ray also helped the JCA Auxiliary in their gift shop…volunteering a few afternoons a week selling sodas, chips and candy to visitors, employees and his fellow residents. Ray was a great help to Rabbi Gertzulin in the JCA’s synagogue and was a helping hand to so many others.
 
It was almost as if Ray Waton had a real job at the JCA. His pay was the good feelings it gave him about helping others.
 
When I retired from the JCA in 2000, I knew I could expect the first daily and then weekly phone calls from Ray. I visited him often and we remained buddies.
 
We talked about the old times. And, how times had changed. About how he had come to the Junior League in 2000 when I was honored by Press Women. How he loved his selling job at Boyds and his favorite customers.  We talked about his cousin Ruthie, their children and their visits and the visits of Minette and Joe Lieberman, his friends. We talked about Mary Levinson, a lovely, classy woman he adored, who had moved into the JCA. How they had met and how he cared about her. And, then she was gone…leaving a void in his life.
 
And, now, at 95, Ray Waton is gone. The dapper, vibrant, caring resident who lived at the old JCA …moved into the Cedars and brought joy into the lives of others has left us. He will be deeply missed. It is the end of an era…Rest in peace Mr. JCA.

Funeral, Friday, August 26, at B’nai Amoona Cemetery. Rabbi Yaakov Gertzulin officiated.