Hesped (Eulogy) for Henry Muller
by Jacob Muller
March 2, 2017
I Love Zaide, three words every one of Zaide’s grandchildren learned from a young age and three words I wish I could say forever.
As the eldest of David’s children and having lived in Canada for my entire childhood, I had the unique privilege of spending the first 18 years of my life living close to Zaide. Whether it was playing hide and go seek in Cooler 2 at Muller’s Meats in Niagara Falls, spending every Shabbat dinner together, going to a Sabres hockey game, or Bobe and Zaide taking me to London with Seffy for my bar mitzvah we were able to spend a lot of quality time together.
All that time I spent around Zaide, is what inspired me to follow his footsteps into business. My Dad and I always joke that with our family, risk skips a generation. While some might think I followed my dad into business those that know Opi, Zaide, my Dad, and I – know that I have Zaide’s risk tolerance and my Dad has Opi’s. There is a famous quote by Albert Einstein, “a ship is always safe at the shore – but that is not what it is built for”. Well Zaide liked to sail far from the shore. He loved working, loved business, loved the stock market, but most of all loved doing deals. There were countless days where Zaide would call me and say did you ever look at this company or just check in to see if I thought the market might be trending up or down. He had such a passion and interest and there was no one I wanted to discuss it with more. He always had a unique insight and was truly brilliant.
Not only did he love working, but Zaide was the hardest worker I know. Zaide shares a story that when he was young, he used to walk to the market in the morning and sell meat for the business. While in school he learnt about the light bulb and realized that if he had a light bulb at his stand he would be able to sell meat earlier than everyone else. So Zaide would show up to the market in the early morning while it was still dark, turn on his light bulb, and was able to sell all his product before any of his competitors showed up. This story represents Zaide in every way. A brilliant man who went the extra mile to succeed in everything he did.
While I could talk about Zaide and business forever, the most amazing thing about Zaide, was his heart of gold. Zaide was kind and caring to anyone and everyone. And his presence was magnetic. At my aufruf, after Shabbat lunch, most of my friends chose not to leave and instead spend their afternoon talking with Zaide. From spending time with him during those few hours, they all felt close to him. It is truly amazing the effect he had on people. Everyone that met him wanted to spend more time with him. And the people that worked for him, adored him. Zaide also helped anyone that asked, he could never say no. I am sure there are many people here today that Zaide helped without ever mentioning it to anyone. He did it out of the kindness of his heart and no other reason was necessary.
What Zaide loved most though was his family and seeing the family grow. I remember when Viv, at the time was my girlfriend, first made the pilgrimage to “The Living End” and Zaide spent the whole time with her and after the trip told me it was time to make it official. Just a few weeks ago, I was here on a Sunday morning visiting and Seffy was here with Benjy his almost two year old son. Zaide couldn’t have been happier. The most special time of year for Zaide was Pesach Seder as the whole family would come together in the house. For those that come to the house this week, you can see that Zaide had already started preparing for Pesach by putting a deck over the pool so there would be enough room for everyone.
Zaide was so proud of his family. When speaking to him, he would always mention an accomplishment of a sibling or cousin. It would be “Did you hear Rachel got a raise or have you read Becca’s most recent article?” He loved us all so much and basked in the glory of our achievements.
You can’t talk about Zaide without mentioning Bobe. They were a colossal team that had such true love for one another. What an amazing 64 years. When I think about my relationship with Viv, a lot of it is trying to emulate the beautiful relationship Bobe and Zaide had. They travelled the globe, bought art, gambled, and love eating good food. We are trying to follow suit. In Zaide’s final hours it was Bobe there by his side singing Too Young by Nat King Cole, a song they sung together when dating 65 years ago. It was like no time had passed.
Over the last 24 hours, I can’t stop replaying all the memories over the years and it struck me how many were surrounded by an aspect of Judaism. It was memories of Shabbat dinner, Pesach, Rosh Hashana, a trip to Israel, talking through his Judaica collection, telling me about a recent chazanish concert, and sitting in this very shul. Izy, Avi, and my parents even joined Zaide and Bobe on a chazanish cruise one year. I went to an orthodox school and shul for almost 20 years and Zaide’s love for religion and Judaism was so much more than what I have. He was so proud to be Jewish and part of the Jewish community – it is something to aspire to.
It’s hard to capture who Zaide was in words because he was so amazing in many different ways. The important characteristics that will stay with me forever are that he was someone you wanted to learn from, be close to, talk to, open up to, and most of all love.
Viv and I will joke at times as something or someone being “such a Muller”. And while some of those comments are pointed towards eating a lot of beef or taking an interest in magic, it is also about someone being loving, caring, and charitable. That comes from Zaide.
I can’t believe Zaide is no longer here. Zaide was the patriarch of our family and someone we hope to emulate in every way throughout our lives. And for one last time, I love Zaide.
Baruch Dayan Haemet – may his memory forever be a blessing.