Memorial at Temple Beth Emet - January 30th , 2005

The memorial was beautiful and very much in the spirit of Ben.  It was a day full of intense emotion, mostly love.  Love for Ben and love for those of us still here and going through this together.

Prior to the service, Hope and Bob had arranged for a smaller, pre-memorial gathering to both express thanks and to gather in prayer.  Hope spoke and described all the tasks, big and small, that her community - both family and friends - had taken on.  She thanked everyone in the most beautiful way.  Then Rabbi Eleanor Smith said a prayer.  It was a wonderful transition to the memorial service.

The press was non-intrusive and Todd Musburger read a statement from the Abels family. (See February 4 th update)

There were at least 1,000 people at the service for Ben, an incredible turnout for an incredible person. Truly a reflection on the number of lives Ben touched. Libby, Ben's traveling companion who survived the tsunami, flew in from Cleveland with her mother.  It was so good to have them there and for all of us to finally meet her.   Matt Sullivan, Ben's friend from Boulder who dropped everything to go to Thailand with David and search for Ben was also there. Many people came form great distances to show their love for Ben and their support for his family.

The service began with some words from Rabbi Eleanor Smith (click to read). After she spoke, a childhood friend of Ben's, Lauri Harris (click to read), read a letter that she had written (after the tsunami) to Ben. Ben's first cousin Missy (click to read) spoke next. She talked about how Ben lived true to his passions and how inspirational he is to all of us. Jenny (click to read), also a first cousin of Ben's spoke after Missy about Ben's gifts to us, his gift of relationship, and how he continues to give this gift.

David (click to read) spoke next and read a letter to his parents from Bill and Hilary Clinton (click to read).  He spoke of his admiration of Ben and he described Ben's last day on Phi Phi.  Next, Bob spoke with Hope at his side.  He read excerpts of a journal Ben kept when he was in high school and was in Europe traveling for the first time.  At 16 years old, Ben's travel journal had such relevance, already revealing his love of travel and meeting people. Rabbi Knobel ended the service with comforting thoughts and prayers.

After the service, there was a line of people waiting to share their love and hugs with the Abels family. After two hours of talking, tears and stories, the memorial came to a close. We all had the opportunity to honor Ben, to remember Ben and most of all to show our love for this incredible person. In the end, we felt that the memorial served its purpose of bringing people together and provide some closure.