Donald Silverman

Donald always said that when he died he wanted only two words on his headstone: He tried. He knew that all we could do in this world was our highly imperfect best.

Donald is predeceased by his beloved Janice and is survived by his brother, Lewis (Mimi), his four daughters Susan (Yosef), Laura (Wesly), Jodyne (Sim) and Sarah (Rory); his honorary son, Roudy (Beatrice), his grandchildren Aliza, Hallel, Adar, Zamir and Ashira; and honorary granddaughters Nycole, Nyiah, and Nyomi. And he had the most amazing friends from all parts of his life: Camp Somerset, college, Manchester and Bedford, NH, Boca Raton, FL and Los Angeles.

He earned his MSW in CT, where he met his first wife and, later, dear friend, Beth Ann. As a young couple they fostered a teenager and a preteen. He had hoped to run an overnight camp like the one that he cherished growing up. And although he took over and expanded the family business, he integrated his passion for kids in the system into that work, making a point to hire teens from the local group home, mentoring them, and providing their school clothes every year. When kids thanked him for the clothes, he told them that they deserved to have an adult provide for them, and it was a shit deal that they didn’t.

And, in the cold NH winters, he left the heat on and the door unlocked to the store vestibule so that people living on the streets would have a warm place to sleep. Donald made everyone laugh, and only some of the time in shock. He was the go-to among his friends and family for the toasts and parody songs at celebrations—and even at funerals. He could capture a person’s essence with loving humor.

He taught his four daughters and grandchildren to love each other deeply and that family is more important than anything—any difficulties, perceptions of fairness, annoyances or issues. We live that and it makes our lives so good. His last words, spoken a few days ago, were “I love you all so much.”

Our dad was passionate about kids who find themselves in the foster system. So in lieu of flowers, please donate to Second Nurture at 2Nurture.org.