Community remembers Gerri Kaplan

Home Features Community remembers Gerri Kaplan Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin ReddIt Email Print By Mary Therese Biebel [email protected] Memorial service held at Temple Israel An overflow crowd observes the memorial service for Gerri Kaplan from the balcony at Temple Israel, listening as Gerri’s daughter, Sofia, sings ‘Mi Shebairach,’ accompanied by Cantor Aaron Abraham on guitar. Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader Gerri Kaplan ❮ ❯ 🔊 Listen to this A Jewish prayer that many people say every day begins with thanking God for life itself, and continues with “Thank you, God, for giving us the capacity to see.” Thinking of that prayer, Rabbi Larry Kaplan said, he knew his late wife, Gerri, would have wanted to donate her corneas so that two other people could have the gift of sight. “We hadn’t talked about it in advance,” he said earlier this week. “But when the transplant team asked, I checked with the kids,” and the answer was yes. As friends and family remembered Gerri Kaplan on Sunday during a crowded memorial service at Temple Israel in downtown Wilkes-Barre, speaker after speaker mentioned the generosity of a woman who had opened her heart and home to more than 125 foster children and, with her husband, adopted several. Among the poignant moments during the service, the Kaplans’ daughter, Nikki, read aloud a tribute written by daughter, Brie, who is completely blind, thanking Gerri for loving her and making her part of the family. Daughter Sofia sang a song of healing, “Mi Shebairach,” as Cantor Ahron Abraham accompanied her on the guitar. And daughter Dana, who introduced herself as “the oldest of 13,” spoke through tears of how her mother had been her best friend. Johanna Gelb, president of Temple Israel, reminded people of Kaplan’s resolve. “When she fixed her mind on doing something, you had better get out of the way,” she said. “I was the only one who ever said ‘no’ to her,” Temple Israel administrator Sally Gruver said, explaining sometimes budget constraints got in the way of what Gerri Kaplan wanted to do. “She gave her heart, her mind, and her soul to God, and to everyone,” Gruver continued. As longtime principal at the Temple Israel Religious School and Midrasha Hebrew School, Kaplan had a gift for using crafts and songs to teach children about holidays and traditions that were part of their culture, Jewish Community Center president Jane Messinger said. But Kaplan’s outreach extended well beyond the Jewish community, as speakers from Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown to the Rev. Bob Zanicky from First Presbyterian Church, to Father Tim Alleman from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, to the Rev. Russ McDougall, formerly assistant director of campus ministry at King’s College, all spoke of her friendship and hospitality. “She lived her life with spiritual integrity,” Sister Carol Rittner from the Misericordia University board of trustees said, noting that Misericordia had presented Gerri and Rabbi Larry Kaplan with honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees earlier this year. “The first time I met her, I knew she was someone special,” Brown said, adding he considered it her “mission from God” that she cared for so many children. While Rabbi Eric Mollo, who formerly served Temple B’nai B’rith in Kingston, sang with Cantor Abraham, and Rabbi Roger Lerner, who also formerly served Temple B’nai B’rith led the singing of Psalm 23 in Hebrew and in English, Temple B’nai B’rith’s current spiritual leader, Rabbi Laurie Green read a poem about never forgetting the deceased. The congregation responded in unison, with a hearty “We remember her,” to each sentence the rabbi began, with phrases such as “at the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter …” “at the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring …” “at the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer” and “at the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn …” When another speaker invited people to raise their hands “if Gerri inspired you to be a better person,” many hands went up. And when her husband reflected on her life, he said she didn’t care about politics or material possessions. She cared about people, connections and acts of kindness. She cared about mitzvahs. Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more. Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism. Click for subscription offers.