a great man.

My grandfather passed away on Thursday, October 6 at 9:20 pm EST. He was 92. Born in Brooklyn, he lived his entire life in New York. He turned Publix shirt company from a one-factory operation (and before my grandfather's time, it was an apartment operation ran by my great-great-grandmother) into a union company with factories all over the country. He was a hard worker and a person who never forgot where he came from; he was also a loving and kind man who will be missed by his family and, as I discovered at his funeral this past Sunday, everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. He was an avid walker who took special notice of the birds and the squirrels in his neighborhood; I believe I got my love of watching the neighborhood squirrels from my grandfather. My brother and I will miss his wisdom and his ability to confound us with word problems and, as my mother so eloquently eulogized, "his lap to sit on." It has been 25 years since I climbed onto his lap. I miss you, Grandpa.

Sheldon Berdon. November 12, 1918–October 6, 2011. Photo taken 1980.