Bonnie Bailis
Dear Family of Gerri Parkinson,
I have been trying to call Gerri since before the COVID pandemic began. She and I became friends when we both worked at
Drexel and were on the Interfaith Council.
She was at the Neumann Center and I was at Hillel. We became closer after a university-wide trip to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in the early 1990’s. Geri was very moved by what she learned there. She began to share her journal entries concerning this
with me.
I have rarely encountered such an open minded, loving soul, able to feel deep sorrow
and yet ready to laugh and enjoy all that life had to offer! Gerri’s interest in knowing more about Jewish traditions made it a pleasure for me to invite her to holiday and Shabbat
dinners at my home! What an easy invitation to extend! She added curiosity, awareness of
comparisons and differences, and joyful
feedback, always in a kind manner.
Gerri decided to study Hebrew with me, in order to read the Bible in its original language. She loved being Catholic and wanted to know things deeply. How great it is to have such a student!
Also, we shared an interest in ritual and its
value in communicating ideas in concrete
ways. We met for lunch when possible after we each no longer worked at Drexel and shared our insights with much laughter as well as awe.
When Gerri moved to Florida, we stayed in
ongoing touch. I know how she found a church she related to and new friends who
made her feel as valued as she valued them! I was not surprised, and I was happy for her.
Early in the pandemic (May, 2020), my youngest grandchild was about to become BarMitzvah. I invited Gerri , although I wondered if she would be able to travel to Brooklyn for this milestone. She laughingly assured me that, with her son in the airline
profession, she would have no problem
travelling there.
Then the event was postponed.Gerri knew this. But around this time , I lost contact with her. I called many times and never again was able to talk with her. And only today, attempting yet again to find her on my I-phone, I found what I had dreaded for a long time, her obituary.
Your mother or grandmother or great-grandmother was a gem!!I can’t believe I won’t get to speak with her again. At the same time, I feel blessed to have spent time and shared so many thoughts with her.I will never forget her warmth, intelligence and her acceptance of life on life’s terms. At the risk of wearing you out with my sadness and adjectives, I will just thank all of you for sharing this stellar person with us, her friends.
With appreciation,
Bonnie Z. Bailis
[email protected]
