Dear 59ers and Cathedralites,
Today Annikki and I mourn the loss, not of a 59er, and not even of a Cathedralite, but the spouse of a great lady without whom we would never have achieved our dream of organising our Golden Reunion last November. She comes from from one of the greatest families our school has ever known.
I received this email from her this morning:
"Dear Friends and Family,
We lost the Great Dane, Bent Lerno on the morning of the 4th of July, 2010. He died peacefully after fighting for so long with his heart condition. He was surrounded by family and friends. He will be greatly missed as he was a true Viking, soldier, philanthropist, and above all a great husband, loving father and grandfather.
He came to America in the 1950's and immediately embraced his new home, but never forgot his Danish roots and was involved in many Danish charitable organizations. A Holocaust survivor, he felt it was necessary to make sure that the past was never forgotten and spoke eloquently at many local schools and through the Shoah Foundation as well.
Bent was always the life of the party and it's only fitting that he left us on the 4th of July as it was one of his favorite holidays which he heartily celebrated here and in Denmark at Rebild.
With love, Gracie Lerno and Family"
Dearest Gracie, Sophie Vilma, Abe and Ellis - we shed tears for Gracie's husband, Bent, who left us on the 4th of July.
Although we never met or corresponded with Bent, we knew him intimately through our dearest Gracie, who kept us informed of all the happenings.
It was through Gracie that we were able to track dowwn so many of you, starting with her two brothers - Abe (the School Vice Captain in 1959) and our own dearest Ellis. Other 59ers whom we were able to locate included Jack Haskell, Noel Ezekiel, Mark Sopher, Matilda Moses, Pamela Shelim, Anne Sopher, Jeanette Ezra, and many more, as well as many many Cathedralites of all years. As soon as we had a problem finding someone, the very first person we turned to was Gracie.
Bent was a rock at the side of Gracie. Gracie often shared her thoughts of her husband and her family with us, so they all have become part of our family, especialy our Cathedralite family which extends over all the continents.
And the Hayeem family, as a whole, is ingrained in all of us in a thousand ways. All of you would have known at least one of these - late Benjy, Sophie, Vilma, Gracie, Abe and Ellis, whose time at our school spanned almost two decades in the 40s and 50s.
I have sent our deepest condolences to Gracie.
May Gracie, and the Hayeem family, stand firm knowing that all of us are with them in and with our prayers at this grave hour of their lives.
And may Bent's soul rest in peace.
Love
Annikki and Jacob
Condolences have been pouring in as all of us have some close affinity with the Hayeem family.
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