Farewell to Ruth Sax, ‘Super Hero Without A Cape’

By Marcia Tatz Wollner

SAN DIEGO — The lyrics from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat “There’s one more angel in Heaven” are fitting for the beloved Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax, 90, who died this past Shabbat. Her daughter, Rabbi Eva Sax Bolder, spoke about how her mother loved to design clothes and wanted to be a fashion designer. She would have designed a very colorful coat.

Sax was laid to rest at the Home of Peace Cemetery next to her beloved husband of 62 years, Kurt. In Sax’s Bat Mitzvah speech this past September, she said: “Each day I think of him and each night I pray to G-d that one day we will be reunited.” She is now with her beloved.

Sax was referred to as an Aishet Chayil (Woman of Valor) both by Rabbi Scott Meltzer of Ohr Shalom Synagogue and Morris Lazard, a close family friend who delivered a eulogy. In Proverbs 31 it is written: “Her value far exceeds that of pearls. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She anticipates the needs of her household, and the bread of idleness, she does not eat. Her children rise and celebrate her.” As Lazard so aptly noted, We all celebrate Ruth and the wisdom which she shared with us all.

A survivor of the Holocaust, Sax was an inspiration – she was always on the go. She was recently the 2018 Bonitafest Grand Marshal, and continued to relate her testimony to school children. At Comic-Con last July she was dubbed the Super Hero without a cape! This past spring, she received an honorary doctorate from Southwestern University.

At the graveside service, it was noted that Sax had a divine spark — a true neshama. There was always a sparkle in her eye and she filled the room with light. Her daughter, Rabbi Eva Bolder, noted that when she took your hand as she sat in her wheelchair, she would give you a hug of kindness.

Morris Lazard told us how Sax was a woman who brought different groups together. She made it her goal to tell her story so others would never forget. She believed in “the human spirit even though she had every reason to doubt in the humanity of people, based on her life experiences during the Holocaust.” He noted that it would be impossible to count the number of people who were touched or influenced by her presentations, by her daughter Sandy’s book about Sax’s Holocaust experiences, or by the numerous accolades that were bestowed upon her.

Sax’s Bat Mitzvah speech included rules to live by. One was: “Never Give up. Never give up hope. Hope is alive. We are alive and we are one. In the camps I said Shema daily…”

Rabbi Bolder spoke about how Sax said the Shma each night and had her and Sandy do so as well. It provided a time to reflect on the past day and think about the day ahead.

The rabbi noted how her mother always spoke about “if” I die, not “when” I die. When questioned about this wording, because as we know, at some point it is inevitable that we will all pass, Sax noted that people do not truly die if their memory lives on. As the title of her biography, Try to Remember- Never Forget, urges,  Sax will be remembered and we will not forget the horrors of the Holocaust.

As family and friends were about to fulfill the final mitzvah of her burial and covering the coffin with dirt, Sax’s daughter Sandy Scheller noted that she had placed dirt from Theresienstadt on the grave. Theresienstadt was just one of the concentrations camps where Ruth had been interned.

As the large crowd left the cemetery, the rain-tears from heaven started to fall. We all left with thoughts of Ruth Sax. We will never forget. She will not be forgotten.

Sax is survived by her daughters Rabbi Eva Sax Bolder (Larry) and Sandra Scheller (Mark) , four grandchildren — Amalia Sax Gagnon (Kate), Anessa Sax Bolder, Samuel Scheller, Max Scheller —  numerous cousins, and the thousands of people she touched with her words and wisdom to remind the world to NEVER FORGET .

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Wollner is Western Region Director of the March of the Living.  San Diego area obituaries are sponsored on San Diego Jewish World by Inland Industries Group LP in memory of long-time San Diego Jewish community leader Marie (Mrs. Gabriel) Berg.