By Renate Frydman, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer
Having brought so much solace and comfort to so many, Roslyn S. Klein slipped quietly away on Oct. 9 at Hospice of Dayton, leaving a huge gap in the hearts of those she had befriended and helped throughout her life.

There are long lists of the organizations Roz had volunteered with through the years: in the Jewish community she was a member of the Jewish Federation’s United Jewish Campaign Cabinet and on the board of Jewish Family Service. She also gave a tremendous amount of support to Hospice of Dayton, Hadassah, and the University of Dayton. But her greatest influence was felt at Good Samaritan Hospital, where she was employed in the Pastoral Care Department for 20 years.

This Catholic institution had many Jewish doctors, nurses and supporters; however, once Roz came on the scene in the Pastoral Care Department in the mid 1970s, she made the Jewish presence felt in a way as never before.

She started with those in her own department, asking if she could hold services in the chapel for the High Holy Days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Roz brought in Rabbi P. Irving Bloom from Temple Israel for the first services and then Rabbi Samuel Press from Beth Abraham to assist with Passover services. They chose prayer texts and wrote some parts themselves. The services were well received by staff and doctors, nurses and patients, and not just Jewish ones.

Roz went one step further and enabled bedridden patients to view the services through closed circuit TV in their rooms on the holidays. She invited Jewish doctors and nurses to participate in the services, held in the setting of a Catholic hospital chapel with Catholic religious artifacts covered up by approval. Non-Jewish staff, doctors and clergy also attended in search of better understanding of the Jewish faith.

Slowly, Roz’s interaction with Jewish patients expanded. She read a Jewish prayer over the public address system on Friday mornings. Only Catholic prayers had previously been read. She had Jewish prayer cards printed to hand out to patients of all faiths.

She brought in chicken soup and matzah balls to her department, nurses stations, and to patients, with permission. Roz led seminars for the entire hospital dietary staff on Jewish menus and recipes. She promoted offering chicken soup on Fridays for all patients.

Passing out electric candelabras for Jewish patients for Friday night and making sure they had small gifts for Chanukah were also innovations Roz brought to the hospital.

“Understanding is key,” Roz said, and so she had pastoral care and other staff to her home for Sabbath and holiday meals. A beautifully set table and discussions of customs heightened their interest in Judaism.

Roz was with Jewish patients when they were in the last moments of their life and with their families when they were in turmoil, needing a kind touch and sympathetic person to listen. She could walk spiritedly into a patient’s room and bring her warmth and sunny spirit, or she could tiptoe silently when they just needed a reassuring presence.

“She had a very special generosity of spirit and gift to give other people. She lit up a room with her strong presence and doctors treasured her,” says Mary Ann Westhoven-Widdowson, her former supervisor. “She had gone through a lot of grief herself, with the loss of her son to an accident and her husband, Lewis. She turned that around to minister to others, understanding their losses. Roz’s influence will go on at Good Sam like the ripples in a pond.”

To view the print version of the November 2013 Jewish Observer, click here.