Through the eyes of the woman who knew him best, his wife Lillian Setton
Who could truly know the essence of a man? The answer is HIS WIFE! My husband Jack and I were married for 64 years before he passed away at the age of 101.
Even before our marriage, I saw his essence, his good heart, good nature, loving kindness, devotion, as well as his ever-welcoming smile. Indeed, those virtues remained steady throughout those years. Not only did he share them with me and our children, he also shared them with people he met.
In 1948, Jack and his family fled Syria due to the Arab uprising against the Jews. They settled in Jamaica, West Indies. There he and his brother Isaac became business partners and were very successful.
Before our marriage, he asked me if I would live in Jamaica. I declined, explaining that I wanted to raise our children and not have to ship them off to Brooklyn in order to procure a yeshiva education. He understood, and we agreed to stay in Jamaica for one year so as to allow him to close his business. Actually, we stayed there for 3 years. However, all of my children were born in the USA. Upon our arrival in New York, he found it very difficult, as he now went from being an employer to becoming an employee.
There is so much that I loved and admired about my husband. However, there was one particular time that my admiration for him became overwhelming. I would like to share it with you: He held various managerial positions in retail stores. He was working on Shabbat (the Sabbath). He was not happy about it, nor was I. We had many conversations about it, as I kept encouraging him to stop working on Shabbat.
Then one day he came home and announced: “I informed my bosses that, ‘I will no longer work on Shabbat (the Sabbath) as well as the Jewish holidays. If it is not agreeable to you, then I quit.’” When he did that, he did not have any job lined up. His bosses refused to let him go, and so they agreed on his terms. I cannot express the joy I felt thanking Hashem for this gift and how proud I was of my husband! He had complete bitachon (trust) in Hashem. Soon after, he became the much-loved mesader (prayer organizer) in the Sitt shul.
The last job he took was as a manager working for David Nissim at Gizelle Ladies Wear on the Lower East Side. He was there for many years before he retired at the age of 92. His relationship with David was like father and son. David loved him, and he loved David. The workers loved him, the customers loved him, as he was known for his warm smile.
Besides his being a wonderful loving husband, he was a terrific loving father. When our children were asleep at night, he always placed a candy bar or gum or some other treat on their windowsills. The children would awake with such glee as they retrieved the items.
I am so thankful to Hashem for allowing me to be at my husband’s bedside towards the end, where I was able to thank him for 64 wonderful years.
My dear Jack, I know that you are praying for all of us, and I look forward to our reuniting again with the coming of Mashiach.
