Lois H. Bodnick

A beautiful soul, Lois touched so many lives and changed them for the better.

As a school guidance counselor she fought fiercely to improve the lives of countless young children and eventually won citywide recognition for her achievements.

As a mother she was extraordinary in inspiring her children and endowing them with lifelong values. There was no limit to what she was willing to do for the sake of her children.

As a wife there was no limit to the love that Lois expressed and the sacrifices that she made to be there in times of need.

But it was as a grandmother that she broke all barriers with overflowing love. Even in her most difficult times, the slightest thought about a grandchild would brighten her eyes and bring a smile to her face.

As for her own needs, Lois was modest and did not ask for much.

In this imperfect world, where at times greed and rage seem to drown out the voices of sanity and good, Lois’s journey through life has been a gem.

If only the journey had been longer.

But we must be thankful that this gem of a woman lived as long as she did.

Dear Lois, you spread so much love and hope over your lifetime. And you inspired so many people to carry your beautiful torch on to future generations.

𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐒𝐲𝐝

At this time, more than anything else, I wish that there was a way to send a love letter to Lois to tell her how much she was loved by me, our family and by so many others.

The luckiest day of my life was New Years Eve 1969, the day I first met Lois.

I had been invited to a New Years Eve party at an apartment on Central Park West and a beautiful young woman, Lois, stepped through the doorway. I was immediately smitten by this marvelous sight.

Then, just behind her, came this man — her date — and just as suddenly all of my hopes came crashing down.

But later in the evening I spotted her in a less crowded part of the apartment, and her date was not there. And we began to talk. And we talked all evening. And I felt so comfortable talking to her.

It was a very strange feeling. I felt as if I had always known her and I fully trusted this woman who I had never met before.

Some Jewish people will say maybe you did meet before — at Mount Sinai, where Moses presented the Ten Commandments. They will tell you that the souls of people from future generations were all there. One Jewish dating app is even called “Met you at Sinai.”

I cannot say that our souls first met at Sinai, but I can say that I soon discovered a beautiful soul that spread love and nourishment to family members and others, especially children, throughout her life.

When Lois spotted someone on the street who was in desperate need she would dig into her purse to find money to help this stranger. Others here will tell you about how much love and support Lois gave to family members. But let me tell you about the love and support that Lois gave to people outside of our family.

When Lois was a school guidance counselor on the Lower East Side, she learned that two children in her school had a younger brother who was totally handicapped, unable to talk, to stand, to go to the bathroom by himself or to do anything to care for himself. The family was totally impoverished and the mother was frazzled and completely overwhelmed.

Lois immediately went to work to help this child. After weeks of tireless work, Lois found a rehab center in the South that offered the child the therapy he needed free of charge.

She even invited the child’s siblings to have lunch at our home and then we took them to the Bronx Zoo.

And only the other day did I learn that she also took these children to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes.

This is just one example of why Lois was later honored as New York City Guidance Counselor of the Year.

Years later, Lois, who had a doctorate in psychology, was called out of retirement to provide psychological and other help to traumatized children who lived near the World Trade Center.

In her heart, Lois was a fierce believer in “Tikun Olam,” the Jewish struggle to fix this broken world. Neither school principals who wanted to take the easy way out nor young teachers who unwittingly were causing harm to bereaved students were free from having to deal with Lois. She was a fighter and she fought hard for the students

So this is the story of my life with this dynamo, Lois — a love story of 56 years. And that is why I call myself “Lucky Syd.”

Thank you Lois for enriching my life beyond anything that I could have ever dreamed. You are and will always be my dream come true.

With all my love,

Lucky Syd