Below are two photos, one of Joseph’s headstone, one of his footstone. (I did not take these; a very kind stranger volunteered to do so. I do, however, plan to visit the grave next weekend.) Although I don’t know much Hebrew, using a translator program I think that the headstone says, “Here lies a Simple and righteous man, Our beloved father Yosef Yaakov ben Avraham, Deceased [Hebrew date].”
The footstone inscription is longer and harder to translate, but I think that it says something like, “Here lies a simple man who woke and toiled doing crushing work in order to support his home, to see and satisfy a dream as a gift to other people, Yosef Yaakov ben Avraham, Deceased [Hebrew date].
Like I said, I relied on a translation program, so I am using some poetic license to put this into English. If there is anyone who has any fluency in Hebrew, please correct me!!
Edited: After consulting with a rabbi and working at this again, I think the footstone says, “Here lies a simple man who toiled doing crushing work to support his home and rejoiced in pleasing others.”
At any rate, I found the inscriptions very touching. At the very least we know his family saw him as a plain, hardworking man who worked to support his home and provide for their dreams in the new world.


I sent this on to my girlfriend Stacia she and even more so her two boys read write and speak Hebrew and Yiddish too. That’s Montreal education for you. The boys went to a Jewish school and were taught Hebrew Yiddish French and of course English.
Sent from Robins iPhone
>
LikeLike
Thanks, Robin! I look forward to hearing what they say.
LikeLike