As my late wife was carried from where her body lay to the final burial site, my 12 year old daughter was crying in  such a manner that she could be heard by all the hundreds of people (if not a thousand) people who accompanied us on her final journey. “That’s not fair”, she cried again and again and again and again and again.

Dany, a client of mine, was there at the funeral, but I did not notice him or anyone else for that matter. I was shell shocked.

Dany had thrice been my client. The first time was early in my career; he ran a business unit. I don’t think I knew too much, but Dany was easy to work with. Tough as nails so I thought, and with a great analytical mind. Many years later, I was very instrumental in getting him a very senior job at a leading firm, where he once again succeeded.

Many years drifted by and we met from time to time, just for a coffee to catch up.

Dany and I shared  quite a bit; we were born abroad (Dany in Argentina and I in Canada) yet we both had become very Israeli. If you listened closely to us, you could tell we were not “local produce” in the way we looked at issues.

Both of us were straight shooters, to a fault. And we both understood politics.

During one of our meetings, Dany told me, “Allon I will never forget the way your daughter cried at her mom’s funeral.” Dany had tears in his eyes, albeit this happen decades after Hadassah had passed away. “And I had, and have so much respect for your ability to plough on”.

Scrolling through the internet yesterday, I learnt that Dany died one year ago. Flashbacks of our many meetings passed before my eyes. My eyes were full of tears.

Rest in peace, my dear man.