Albert M Rodstein, February 1, 1918 - March 6, 2022
Arlene's Eulogy
Delray Beach, March 17th, 2022
He had EVERY gift...including that of long life.
He was Movie Star handsome and he LOVED people.
He was generous to Jewish Charities and to individuals he knew
personally.
I remember some of the trips we went on when I was young.
He took me to see the Philadelphia Athletics in Clearwater Beach and
we got a photo with Connie Mack.
We went to the Hollywood Beach Hotel where I learned to eat Banana
Splits for lunch!
At 16 he took me to the Atlantic City Race Track. He gave me $20 to
bet with. I lost the first race and put the rest in my pocket!
His business career read like the American Dream, but it was not so
smooth living through it. He started at age 6 selling newspapers and
wound up as a member of the boards of TWO public companies...but my
brothers will tell you more about that.
He sold his vending company RIGHT after I got Married. I guess my
mother went overboard on the wedding. I remember his reaction that
night...he told EVERYONE in the hotel that his daughter just got
married! Jackie Leonard was in the lobby and said : CHOKES YA UP DON'T
it??
He was the most SOCIAL man I ever met. His friends were from ALL
WALKS of life.
He always tried HARD to keep his dinner dates to 6 nights a week and
he knew ALL the good restaurants in town. If I didn't call him a week
in advance I didn't get him for dinner that week...and he NEVER
changed a date once confirmed. Every date was IMPORTANT to him.
He never forgot the names of my friends...no matter how long it had
been since he had seen them. He sent BIRTHDAY CARDS to everyone he
knew!
He played to WIN at golf and bridge...and was SO THRILLED when he DID
WIN THE PHILMONT DERBY (with JIMMY) on the 19th hole!!! He was the
oldest man ever in the field at 71.
He also LOVED playing golf with sports stars like Willy Mays, Mike
Schmidt and Julius Erving.
But I knew him best by the parties we gave for his 90th, 95th
hundredth,101th and 102nd birthdays. His list was always "just the
family" (about 35 people) because he never wanted to hurt anyone's
feelings by picking a few good friends.
For his 100th birthday he gave me a list of 300 people! I hated to
tell him to cut it in half!!
When asked what his secret (of long life) was his answer was always
the same: MY NUMBER HASN"T COME UP YET he would say.
Well DAD, we weren't ready ... BUT YOU WERE when your number finally
did come up. It had given you plenty of time to enjoy your retirement
and to say goodbye to everyone still alive that you loved. 30 of us
actually celebrated your 104th birthday with you.
You told us not to cry for you. But we will cry for US as we
celebrate your amazing life.
We'll miss your smiles, your great hugs, your endless wisdom and
support, your dignity, and the fun we all shared. You will always live in my heart.
And we are THANKFUL for your amazing long life.
Marc's Eulogy
Trevose, PA, March 8th, 2022
We all knew this day was coming. Some might say it was overdue. But
still, it is hard to process.
For me, today is a day of both joy and sadness. Sadness at the crushing
loss of a wonderful father, and a man who enriched the lives of all who
knew him. Yet joy, at my incredible good fortune to be born to such a
wonderful man, and to grow under his guidance for a full 77 years of my
life.
Orphaned at 13 years of age, Dad was forced to drop out of high school
and go to work to support himself. Despite being deprived of a formal
education, he was knowledgeable, wise as an owl and as sophisticated as
anyone I’ve ever met. Despite his own lack of formal education, he sent
each of his three children to college. From a poor boy delivering
newspapers and parking cars, he rose by his own efforts to great
success, founding numerous business ventures, and eventually being
seated on the board of two public companies. He employed hundreds of
people, many of whom became close friends.
As we gather here to say goodbye to my father, I reflect on what he
meant to me. He taught me how to ride a bike, play ball, drive a car, to
succeed in business, and above all, to be a mensch. He demonstrated to
me the way to live a pure life, treat people fairly, love and be loved.
He was an incredible role model. I find myself constantly asking “What
would Dad do?” Whenever I lack for direction, I need only follow in his
footsteps.
Despite or perhaps because of losing both of his parents as a child, he
was totally dedicated to family. He brought his entire extended family
together as one, encouraging each of us individually, and always
supporting the whole. His generosity, is legendary. He touched people’s
lives in a uniquely uplifting way. This spirit of Albert’s, can never be
extinguished. It will live on in the lives of all those that he
touched.
As my own life proceeds toward its inevitable ending, I know that Dad
will still be there guiding me, as he always has. Dad, you taught me
about kindness, generosity, fairness and love. The love you have
showered on others is perhaps only exceeded, by the love and admiration
that other people hold in their hearts for you.
I have always been thankful for you Dad, and I always will. You are my
guiding star. My pride in you, and my love for you will never die.
May you rest in peace.
Howard's Eulogy
Trevose, PA, March 8th, 2022
My father was a good man, a kind man, a benevolent man, and a sweet
man. He was the anchor of our extended family for decades.
My father was beloved by his brother and sisters, his wife, his
children, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and his nieces and
nephews. Really, everyone loved him.
He had many, many friends. Not infrequently, a friend would pull me
aside and whisper in my ear "You're Dad is a great guy!"
He was a great guy. And he was a good friend. He was fun to be with,
comfortable with himself, and he naturally made the people around him
feel appreciated.
My father, who dropped out of high school during the depression to
support himself, was a bright, enterprising, and capable man. He started
his work life at a young age delivering newspapers and parking cars 7
days a week. He went on to start a half dozen businesses and to employ
hundreds of people. Many of his employees expressed their gratitude for
him to me.
He never complained about the adversity he faced as an orphaned child
in the depression. He just got on with pulling himself up through hard
work and determination, and in the process, he pulled his family, and a
lot of other people, up with him. I'm very proud of my father.
My father, the high school dropout, went on to become an advisor to
Continental Bank, sat on the board of two New York Stock Exchange
companies, and was an advisor to a third. He served as president of his
industry's trade association in Pennsylvania and was known and respected
within the industry throughout the country.
My father was a generous man ... generous to his family, to his
employees, and to the greater community.
My father was a handsome man, a stylish yet understated dresser, and
very photogenic. I have many pictures of my Mom and Dad looking like
movie stars.
My father and I shared a love of sports. He taught me to throw a
baseball, to shoot a basketball, and to hit a golf ball. He was a
Philadelphia sports fan for about 100 years.
My father was a considerate man. Every year for longer than I can
remember, on the occasion of my birthday, he assembled my friends of
longest standing and my closest family for a birthday dinner during
which we renewed warm feelings and created warm memories.
My father was a champion birthday-card-sender as many of you can
attest. I did not inherit that trait. But I did give my Dad a birthday
card on his birthday for the last several decades. And I usually ended
the card by telling him "I am the luckiest son in the world".
I felt that way then, I feel it now, and I think I will feel it for as
long as I live.
Thank you my sweet father.
Catherine Rodstein's Eulogy
Delray Beach, March 17th, 2022
Pop Pop
I’ll never forget the first time I met Pop Pop in 1988. I had heard so
much about him from his grandson, and my future husband, Jeffrey, who
absolutely admired and adored him. He was just as handsome and charming
as Jeff had described.
Well, I was awed from the start. I was welcomed with open arms, felt
immediately comfortable and confident. But of course, that’s how Pop Pop
made everyone feel. He was the consummate gentleman: always polite,
thoughtful, and genuine. He had that rare gift of making you feel good
about yourself. I knew right away I had met someone very special.
Through the years, I would introduce myself as Pop Pop’s granddaughter
in law. He would always correct me, and say, “my granddaughter”. There
are those few people you have the great privilege to know in your life
that make an impact. That have a special place in your heart. He is
definitely one of those for me, for all of us.
He was a true representative of what’s been termed the greatest
generation. They witnessed some of the most pivotal moments in history.
Pop Pop’s generation lived through the Great Depression, World War II,
and into one of the most the prosperous eras in the history of our
nation. The new prosperity contrasted sharply with previous decades of
struggle. They say it’s the hardships of life that form true character.
They knew a thing or two about working hard. They learned to sacrifice,
and appreciate stability.
Or were they the greatest because they viewed personal responsibility as
an honor, something to respect and be grateful for? They had integrity,
a humble bravery. They were committed, especially to family. And Pop Pop
certainly was.
He never forgot important dates in your life, and always took the time
to write an actual card or a thoughtful email. This is one of the things
I will miss dearly. I never felt alone when it came to Pop Pop.
When enough years had passed since Jeff’s passing, and reaching out
wasn’t necessary any longer - Pop Pop always did. He never forgot, was
always the first call or email, always so sweet and thoughtful. Every
year on our anniversary, Jeff’s birthday, every birthday, events of the
kids, you name it. Through good times and hard times. He was always
there.
Learning about all the challenges Pop Pop faced growing up, orphaned
young during the depression, leaving school to work long hours parking
cars. He took the reins from an early age that continued throughout his
life. Being a good husband, building a successful company and highly
respected name in the business world, raising wonderful kids.
You ask yourself, how did he do it? Throughout my life, whenever
challenged, I know I will always ask myself, what would Pop Pop do? I
can only hope that I can live up to the example of love, strength,
generosity, and character that he set for us all.
Not only was he the patriarch of our family, he was an incredible human
being who left his mark on everyone he met. He made the world a better
place for all of us.
Sam Hudis' Eulogy
Trevose, PA, March 8th, 2022
I always knew from a young age what a rarity it was to have my great
grandparents alive and in my life, Pop Pop and Mom Mom both. But
what was even more of a privilege was to have a relationship with my
great grandfather as an adult.
Albert Rodstein was a man who came from nothing. The son of
immigrants to America from a city in western Ukraine that we would
call in Yiddish Kaminitz, Kaminiets-Podilsky in Ukrainian, he was an
orphan by age 13, ran away from his relatives' home at age 17, and
managed improbably from a single pin ball machine on the boardwalk
in Atlantic City to build a successful business and livelihood for
himself and his family.
When I began to take an interest in our family history, asking Pop
Pop about his life and absorbing all his stories about this world
that came before me. He told me about working for tips as a valet,
about casting his first vote for Franklin Roosevelt, about serving
in the Pennsylvania National Guard during WW2, and about his
business with my grandfather.
When I was in college, I took classes in Yiddish, Pop Pop's first
language, and the native language of all our ancestors before him,
going back 1000 years. He hadn't had much opportunity to use the
language for many decades, but anyone who knew him knows, he always
had a sharp mind and never forgot anything. I would practice my
Yiddish with him, and he would tell me about the Yiddish newspaper
in Philadelphia he used to read: Der Teg, The Day. For years since,
on my birthday, Pop Pop would write me birthday cards in his
Yiddish, the Ukrainian dialect, which was slightly different from
the academic standard I learned in school. As a matter of fact, my
Yiddish professor was a man in his 90s from Elkins Park. I never
established for sure whether they knew each other, but we did not
rule it out.
The last time I saw Pop Pop in person was right before covid, for
his 102nd birthday, in February 2020. We talked about his remarkable
feat, having been born in 1918, of living in the 20s for the second
time in his life. And he told he told me a story from his youth in
the 1920s, of his father, who would be dead by age 7, who worked as
a milk man in Philadelphia delivering milk via horse and cart, not
unlike the Tevye of the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem's stories.
Pop pop told me his fondest memory of his father was running into
the barn one day to find amid the hey that his father had bought him
a tricycle.
Pop Pop was born amid a deadly global pandemic, the Spanish Flu. And
so I've thought for years now, in his twilight, about cycles of life
and cycles of history. As if to prove the point, he was also born
the son of refugees from Ukraine, at a time when Ukraine was
fighting a war for its independence. His father in law, Mom Mom's
father, fled to Philadelphia from Kiev as a young man in order to
avoid conscription into the Tzar's army, and a meaningless death as
cannon fodder for Russian imperialism, the fate that thousands of
Russian army conscripts have met in the last two weeks.
But it's not true that there is nothing new under the sun. Pop Pop
grew up riding horse drawn buggies, and became a fluent emailer. He
said to me once indeed that the two most significant innovations of
his life were the automobile, and the internet. He lived as long and
full a life as any of us could hope for,
and leaves behind 11 great grandchildren, of whom I am the oldest.
Pop Pop, I'm sure I speak for my brother, my cousins, and my second
cousins in saying that in everything we do in our lives, we stand on
your shoulders. Mazel dayn leb. Congratulations on your life.
Caitlin Humenry's Eulogy
Delray Beach, March 17th, 2022
There’s a part of me that thought that Pop Pop would live forever. He had an invincible quality to him and a youthfulness that never faltered. He was both strong and vulnerable. Loving and honest. Intelligent and curious.
Of all these qualities, what I admired most was his ability to bring people together. He was the consummate host and also a teacher, continuing tradition through generations. He created legacy first through his children, then with his grandchildren, then through us great-grandchildren who are so lucky to have known him all these years.
To know a man like Pop Pop is to dip your toe in history. We had the unique advantage of loving a man who embodied honor, wisdom, and joy in a way that is seldom seen today. His legacy will continue on through these traditions and memories that he spent his time nurturing.
Life’s most valuable commodity is time, and Pop Pop truly used his time wisely. All 104 years of it.
Obituary
Contributions
Contributions can be made to the Albert M Rodstein Centennial Scholarship
fund by check payable to Thomas Jefferson University with a note
"Memorial-Rodstein Scholarship" and mailed to: Jefferson Office of
Institutional Advancement, 125 S. 9th St., Suite 600 Phila, PA 19107.
The Life of Albert M Rodstein
Audio
(These audio recordings work on my Windows computer but not on my
Macintosh. I will try to fix that.)
Funeral Service, March 8, 2022, Roosevelt Cemetery, Trevose, PA
Celebration of Life Part 1, March 17, 2022, Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, FL
Celebration of Life Part 2, March 17, 2022, Seagate Country Club, Delray Beach, FL