Rosette Wolf

Bireshut Rabbotei, Dad, Uncle Romeo, Hadassah, Talia, Michal, Shira, Stephnie, members of the incredible Vecht clan, extended family and dearest friends.

It has been a year since my dearest mother left us.

And like last year, we are currently in the important and wonderful month of Nissan, the Rabbis decreed that mourning our loved ones should be curtailed. Therefore, these short words will focus on honouring the extraordinary person who I was blessed to have as a mother, my father was honoured to have as a wife and you were privileged to have as a sister, grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend. In truth, all three adjectives apply to all of us.

During the last year which has witnessed seismic events in our lives, my father has found a new home in the warmth of the Jewish Care family and our beloved house, which served as the family home for fifty five years is sadly now in the hands of others.

It has been an extremely challenging year and I honestly don’t know how I could have made it through without the incredible support of Stephnie, my girls, stepchildren, extended family and countless others.

Although my mother is no longer physically present in my life, she is with me in my heart 24/7. When I drive past this location which is nearly every day, I bid her ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Shabbat Shalom’ or ‘Shavua Tov’ and wish her well. I know that she is listening and responding in the same way to me, albeit silently.

strength, determination of spirit and stubborn refusal to give up

At her levaya (funeral) I noted the appropriateness of her name. If you spell ‘Rosette’ in Hebrew, it consists of the letters raysh, aiyin, zayin, tav. At the very heart of her name is the word OZ, the Hebrew word for strength. A year on and I could not think of a more fitting way to remember her qualities.

Her strength, determination of spirit and stubborn refusal to give up on whichever cause she was fighting for, lives on within my conscious and subconscious self.

Whether she chooses to appear to me at night or during a Shabbat schluff, in Bushey, Staines or even Cheltenham, she is ever-present.

She accompanies me wherever I go and I welcome her companionship. We have a weekly Friday night chat as I walk back from shul. I tell her what I’ve been up to, which I find is very reassuring because she was always interested in what I did.

As I said last year, in the last line of bensching, the Grace after Meals, we have the wonderful phrase, Hashem oz l’amo yitayn, Hashem yivarech et amo v’shalom. ‘Hashem will give strength to his people, Hashem will bless his people with peace.’

a quarter of a century at Norwood repairing broken families

My mother, whose early years were spent living in hiding in occupied Belgium, was impacted throughout her life by her traumatic experiences. The strength, the innate OZ, that she possessed resulted in her desire to do everything she could to promote peace amongst our people. From searching for Jewish children who had been handed to well-meaning gentiles during the war with the intent of reuniting them with their families after the war, to working for nearly a quarter of a century at Norwood repairing broken families. My mother’s entire existence was dedicated to serving others.

Throughout this year, people have spoken to me about how they feel about my mother’s passing. Sometimes, it has been very difficult to hear but at the same time, I have been privileged to receive the most wonderful pictures and videos on WhatsApp which opened a portal into her life that I had not seen witnessed before. Please keep them coming. Thank you for being there to listen to me and show such kindness throughout the year. It has been extremely comforting.

Last November, we were able to truly celebrate her life by having a tree planted nearby in Canon’s Park as part of the AJR’s 80th Anniversary celebrations. I was unable to attend due to my first bout of Covid but can’t express the overwhelming pride I felt watching Hadassah representing the family so movingly. We saw a tree being planted along with a time capsule that contained amongst other things, my mother’s memoirs which she had completed a few years before her passing. This then inspired me to use her words on her matzeivah (gravestone) which we will see shortly. My father wanted it to include the first couple of verses from the Eshet Chayil prayer  that we sing in honour of our wives (and any other females present) on Friday nights.

“A woman of strength, who can find? Her worth is far beyond pearls.

Her husband’s heart trusts in her and he has no lack of gain.”

queen of the social scene

Although we are sad to be here for this occasion, I see today as a celebration of my mother’s life. Those of you who are able to join us, are warmly invited to come to our house after the service, where we shall learn some Mishna in her name and eat some delicious very chametzdik food. My mother, the queen of the social scene would have no doubt approved.

Thank you for joining us today and showing your love and appreciation of the unique Rosette Wolf. She is irreplaceable and always will be, but at the same time, she lives forever in all of our hearts and minds.

May her soul be bound up in the bond of life. Amen.