Jacob Frey, New York City Voices Director of Operations and Circulation, passed away on March 26th, just five days after reaching his 61st birthday.
I had the privilege and pleasure of knowing Jacob for the last two years. One thing I remember about him was his warmth and good humor. I can recall his good-natured sense of humor on numerous occasions during the day-long mailings of New York City Voices. Back then, the mailings entailed stuffing thousands of newspapers in thousands of envelopes, then putting a label on and stamping each envelope. Jacob, through his wit, helped make what might normally be an extremely monotonous, tedious task much more enjoyable, and he really helped the day just fly by.
Far more importantly, however, I will remember Jacob as one of the most caring and courageous fathers I've ever known; someone who took action at a time his child needed him the most.
Three years ago, Jacob's son Daniel was exhibiting some very unusual and frightening behavior. Rather than just ignore these signals of a potential problem and hoping they would just go away, Jacob took action and brought Dan to the hospital. Thanks to Jacob's strength and resolve to get his son help, Dan was able to receive the help he so desperately needed at that time and is now in recovery from schizophrenia and living a fulfilling life helping countless others with mental illness. As Dan himself said at Jacob's funeral service, "Without my dad taking me to the hospital when he did I probably wouldn't be here today."
When the Rabbi spoke of Jacob at the funeral service, he used the word advocate to describe him on at least three occasions. This is an extremely fitting word to use with Jacob, who most assuredly was an advocate for his son when he needed one the most.
In conclusion, I'd like to share with you the lesson we all can learn from Jacob. If you know of any loved one who is exhibiting any type of unusual behavior, and you feel as if there might be a problem, don't sit idly by, hoping the problem will just disappear. Do what Jacob did. Take action and get your loved one the help he or she might desperately need.