Jacob Handelman
New England Region
On a cold night in January, a large circle of men huddled around a roaring fire at Harvey’s Farm in Westboro, MA to say goodbye to our beloved brother, Barry Rose, who died much too young on his earthly journey. The men acknowledged Rose’s spirit to each other and to the Great Creator. We called out words that evoked memories of Rose. We shared personal stories and memories of him. Men from his men’s teams shared anecdotes that for a moment brought Rose back to life for all of us, even for just one more night. We all then shared the many lessons we all learned from Barry over the years.
During this whole event men took turns to write notes of remembrance to his two daughters that will be passed to them later this year. We also blessed the moment with the Mourners Kaddish, a Jewish blessing that is recited to honor the memory of those who have passed. His family will be holding a memorial service this Spring. It was notable that Rose would have passed without a public acknowledgement until then if it were not for the men of our circles. A man was honored, and we were all better men for having participated.