It's
with deep regret that the Executive and Council announce that our President, Heny
Waldman, (pictured right), passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday,
15th January 2008. Heny Waldman
It's
with deep regret that the Executive and Council announce that our President, Heny
Waldman, (pictured right), passed away peacefully on the evening of Tuesday,
15th January 2008.
The funeral service took place on Friday, 18th January 2008 at 9.40am at Sutton Road Cemetery and Crematorium Sutton Rd Southend-on-Sea SS2 5PX.
Heny had actively been involved in the synagogue for many years and will be sorely missed by everyone. Our thoughts go to all her family and friends at this time.
Tributes
Heny will be sorely missed by us all. Our thoughts go out to Marcelle and her family at this difficult time. We wish them long life.
Jackie, Colin and Louis Taylor with Hannah, Dan and Sam Mindel.
Heny was a larger than life woman who was one of the first people to welcome me (and my family) into the community. She was always curious about my son, Mark, and loved to share her news about her own family. She supported me during my term as Chairman of the synagogue - she will be very much missed.
Fern Potter.
SDRS Council Member - Interfaith Liaison.
When Lewis and I first went to SDRS nearly 20 years ago the person that we were greeted by was Heny, the first thing she did was to give us her phone number and told us to contact her if we needed any information about the synagogue. Neither of us could imagine how many times that we would use that very number over the years and how fond we would become of Heny. Neither did I realise that any new visitor to the synagogue was a prospective member to Heny who was passionate about SDRS and used any chance to help it flourish.
Heny was a Friday night regular and she had her own seat and I don’t think that any of us who were "Friday nighters" with her, have ever sat in her chair next to the radiator since she stopped coming. We would not dare, that was Heny’s seat! When she was well she would often bring a cake for kiddish, I remember one Purim she made a poppy seed cake and we could not work out why she banned any children from eating it until she told us it was so full of poppy seeds they would probably end up ‘high’.
Over the years we became friends with Heny and learnt to appreciate her wicked sense of humour, she would often phone just for a chat and to catch up with the synagogue news (gossip really!). She would also ask about our children, and I cannot remember one conversation that did not include how wonderful Marcelle, Denis, Chloe and Fiona were. She was so proud of her family.
There are certain tasks in the synagogue that will remain forever Heny’s. One of them was providing the apple and honey for Erev Rosh Hashanah, even up to this year I asked her if she wanted to get it and it was only when she said she probably would not be able to get there that I said we would get it on her behalf. She was also so happy when her family attended synagogue with her on the afternoon of Yom-Kippur.
Over the past few years it seems the majority of our visits to Heny have been to Southend General, visiting Heny was not a chore, she would have us in stitches around her bed telling us tales of people and events past.
Heny was so proud of her position firstly as Vice-President, then as Synagogue President, she always wanted the Reform Synagogue to flourish and always used any opportunity to promote it. Heny we will miss you but will always remember how much you did for the synagogue and more importantly how much you loved it and hopefully we can continue to make it a place that you would be truly proud of. God bless.
Diana Miller.
SDRS Guild.
Very sorry to hear of the said death of Heny. During the past years when she was so ill, she was always good humoured and optimistic. A lovely lady who will sadly missed.
Loretta and Victor Arram.
Late summer of 1988, I had just moved down to Southend with my wife and two children who were both under 3 years of age. We decided to go along to the Synagogue one Friday for an evening service. As we walked through the doors we were met and greeted by the smiling face of Heny. She made my family and I very welcome and her warmth and feeling for the Synagogue shone through.
As a regular attendee and latterly a lay reader myself, Heny was up to a short time ago a very welcome and regular attendee at the services. She was always willing to have a chat to you about your family and also to tell us of how proud she was of her own family. Over the years Heny was always a regular and prominent attendee of all the services, events and special occasions the synagogue had. She will be sadly missed but her legacy of a warm and friendly reception to any new visitor to the Synagogue will live long.
Lewis Miller.
SDRS Council Member - Chairperson.
