Professor Richard L. Rubenstein and his wife Dr. Betty Rogers Rubenstein were beloved friends and caring mentors for me.
Dr. Betty died May 19, 2013 at the age of 92. Dr. Richard died May 18, 2021 at the age of 97. I have never seen love and respect greater than Richard’s love for Betty. Their care and lifelong guidance for me came distinctly from each, but always, finally as a single thing. It was comforting, and pushed and inspired me to strive. I wanted to become what they seemed to see in me. So many of their fleeting words remain alive in me now, fresh as the day they were spoken.
When Dr. Betty died, I worried or wondered how so great a loss of a partner so dear would impact Dr. Richard. The Jewish relationship with life and death to me is the finest I know, and Richard’s life, in his closing years, was a reliable paragon of proficiency, command and clarity. Richard’s closing years proved the integrity and force of his earlier years and courageous life. I continued to be blessed with the beauty and elegance of Richard’s social kindness and keen insight even after Dr. Betty was gone.