BRUNO SERATO OUR LOCAL HERO!

        Thanksgiving this year was spent with immediate  family. We spent the night eating lots of delicious food at the White House in Anaheim. While there we were honored to meet the chef Bruno Serato. Bruno Serato is a wonderful man with a Huge heart always willing to help others. Every night Bruno feeds around 300 children at the Boys and Girls Club. He wishes to help the children more and even the families. Bruno Serato is in the run for CNN Top Heroes award. If he wins he will have the chance to help even more children and their families. You can vote up to 10 Times a day. So go now and Vote for our LOCAL HERO!!
Click Here to vote:http://heroes.cnn.com/vote_en.aspx

Trying to understand what cant be understood.

             There are no words to describe how I have been feeling lately. Yes I can put labels like angry, happy,  or sad. But they don't do justice. Some might call it numbness but thats not exactly it.  I was told by a friend to take sometime to myself and sit in it with God. So I did what I do best and I journaled.  I sat and tears started to stream down myself but I felt nothing it is the weirdest feeling and I just don't understand what is going on. I look at pictures of Hal and think he's still here mind, body, and soul. But in fact he is not here in mind or body but maybe his soul is here with us. I feel as if he is still with me and I wonder if thats him with me in spirit. Each time a love one dies it brings on different feelings. With my Grandma her mind was already gone. When I found out she had Alzheimer's thats when my grieving process started and the tears would stream down my face each time I saw her and saw that she was only getting worse. But with Hal it was different his mind was still there and of course  he was still cracking jokes till the very end. Though he gave me time to prepare was I really prepared? I think I led myself to believe that he was not going to die that he was a fighter and had many years left in him. I had hope until I saw him take his very last breath. It became real all of a sudden real that I had lost one of my Best friends. Then I went on with my life and somehow the reality of the situation disappeared. That was until the funeral then it became so real again and now its not so real. My brain thinks about him every second of the day, and I know he's gone but my emotions their not so sure. The way I grieve is by crying but I don't know how to grieve if I cant cry and thats kind of the stage I am currently at. The tears are subtle and few just few enough to let my emotions think he is still alive.

         

"He's love is like the wind I cant see it but I can feel it" - A walk to remember

HAL BENVENISTE- A poem and video tribute

I am having copyright issues with uploading this video to the web because of the music so I hope this link works.
Click here to view Hal's Tribute Video (played at funeral)

GRANDPA HAL 

We aspire to be like our grandfather

Living a life dedicated to others

Hal taught us a lot, all of which we will cherish

As long as we live, his legacy will not perish

From working for the L.A. Times in its heyday

To helping out his community in a big way

Hal was the personification of Kiwanis

Hal was a giant of a man who we will all miss.

 Hal changed our lives, that’s for sure

He made us better people, right down to the core

His spirit, his strength, his contagious happy vibe

Even when he was in pain, he seemed so alive

Pachanga Miranga, bim boo bah, shentesay

Those are some made up words Hal used to say

I am just a poor Jewish immigrant from East L.A.

That is another phrase Hal loved to say

Hal had many passions in his life

One was square dancing with his wife

Another was producing newsletters, of which he was editor

The Ol’ Timers Publication and the Kiwanis Klapper

Hal loved his Mercedes oh so very much

In his Mercedes he often took my family to lunch

Hal was generous with his money and time

Hal was truly one of a kind

Hal spent a lot of time volunteering in local schools

From the B.U.G. program to ArtMasters, Kids thought Hal was cool

He took underprivileged kids back to school shopping with their families

He organized this through Kiwanis, the biannual shopping sprees

Hal was a devout Jewish man and praised God

Hals chipper sincerity was not a facade

A quality that made him the best Grandpa ever

We are blessed to have Hal as our adopted Grandpa forever

We ask God to treat our Grandpa Hal with care

With the very same affection that my mom gave to Hal’s hair

My mom was Hal’s hair stylist for many years

While I won’t let her touch my hair, Hal had no fear

Hal taught me to always put my best foot forward

He taught me to smile through the days that seem hard

Hal taught me that volunteering is good for the soul

He showed me that giving to others makes you spiritually full


Farewell my friend, my very dear friend
Thanks for the memories, right up to the end
We know you will always live in our hearts,
We love you so much, and so desperately do not want to part 


Our Grandpa is home with the angels above
As God summons Hal home, we send him with love
Hal is over the rainbow, Hal is now with the sky
On behalf of the family, we love you and goodbye 

HAL- a GIANT of a man!

Click on the this: Hal's Tribute Video-played at his funeral

 HAROLD BENVENISTE
 1933-2011

QUICK NOTE: I have posted Hal's memorial video on youtube. Click on the underlined words above Hal's picture to view the tribute.


     Play this song, the HAWAIIAN version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow while you read about Hal, a GIANT of a man! This was one of his favorite songs! After, listen to the GIGOLO song, Hal ALWAYS sang this! Finish up this memory article with another one of Hal's favorite songs, My Way. Do not just read, get into it emotionally and let the music make this an experience. Cry, laugh and remember! 

     Well here it goes, a lot of random thoughts written down to share with everyone about how much we, the Holmberg's, loved and appreciated HAL! We simply want everyone to know how great of a person Hal was and how he did so much good! His final days, he told us he always tried to be a good person. That is all you can do really, try to be a good person. If you are sincere about your commitment, as Hal was, thousands of people of all ages will literally adore you. 

     What is the most valuable thing on earth? Is it diamonds, gold, ocean view homes or orange county real estate? Over the last few weeks I believe I have found the answer. The most valuable thing on earth is life. When our time comes, we will do anything for one more day. My family has been blessed to have numerous “one more days” with our Grandpa Hal over the previous couple weeks. We got a chance to tell Hal how much he meant to us, Hal got a chance to tell us how much we meant to him, we were blessed to say we love you time and time again, we had the chance to discuss religion, we had the chance to comfort each other, we had a chance to say what we wanted to say, we had a chance to say goodbye. Wednesday afternoon, God summoned Harold Benveniste home. He went peacefully, with dignity and with his family by his side. As we left the hospital, music started playing in the rooms and halls of St. Jude Hospital. The music told everyone that a baby was just born, a new life had just entered the world.  

     My grandpa on my dad’s side passed away before my sister and I were born. My grandpa on my mom’s side passed away when I was 4 and when my sister was 2. My sister and I would have grown up without the love of a grandpa if Hal did not come into our lives. He meant so much to us. When we were younger, we would always go out to lunch. I probably ate too many Burger King Jr. Whoppers as a kid because Hal always made sure we ate whatever we wanted! When our mom made us get water because she did not want to spend the money, Hal would buy us a drink, not to mention our lunches! He was such an incredibly generous man.

     Hal was generous with his money and especially his time. He would volunteer at our school and all my teachers and principals knew him. My friends even knew him. To many of my friends he was known as the Art Masters guy or the B.U.G. man. He would volunteer with my mom to teach my elementary classes about different artists and lead them in a painting, once a month. The B.U.G. (bringing up grades) program was a mechanism to encourage kids who brought up grades in the La Habra City School District. He would emcee the dinner and magic show, held by the Kiwanis Club of La Habra. Hal organized the Kiwanis club shopping sprees where he, along with other Kiwanians, would take a dozen or more underprivileged kindergarteners, from head start, shopping for clothes before school started and at Christmas. Hal would present awards and scholarships at graduations in our community, on behalf of the Kiwanis Club. Hal worked at almost every Corn Festival for the last 20 years, raising money for the Kiwanis Club of La Habra to do all of these charitable activities. To us, Kiwanis is and was synonymous with Hal. He had a huge presence in our community and his passing will leave a noticeable void in La Habra. I think it is safe to say that, merely saying Hal will be enormously missed is a gargantuan understatement.    

 
    He was literally our God given grandpa! I sincerely feel like we have won the lottery by being able to have Hal in our lives. I am sure going to miss our little trips with him. I will never forget our trip to the Huntington Beach Hyatt Hotel for a night a few years back. Our last trip to San Diego, for the Kiwanis convention, this last summer will always be a warm memory. I am going to miss going to visit him and having lunch with him. I will miss seeing him every week. I will miss his made up sayings he and my mom had, like pachanga moronga, shentisay, bim boo bah, kidneys, chitlins and so much more. I will miss going to HEROES Bar and Grill every St. Patrick's day with Hal when he dressed up like a leprechaun. I will miss how FUN Hal was. I will miss how funny Hal was. I will miss how sincere, honest and loving Hal was. I will miss Hal. He has enriched our daily lives and his love will continue to have an impact for decades to come

      Hal’s passing was very different from my Grandma Holmberg’s passing earlier this year. My grandma had Alzheimer’s and it was a long goodbye. We were relieved to see her not suffer anymore. Her mind was gone and she was not the same person when God summoned her home. However, my Grandpa Hal seemed young. His mind was still totally there when he entered the twilight of his life. Although he was in constant pain, especially the last year of his life, he never complained. He was one of the strongest spirits I have ever met. He was a giant of a man, a role model, an inspiration, a friend and our loving grandpa.  He was one of the MOST IMPORTANT PERSONS in our life and we feel so blessed to have had Hal in our life. He made our family bigger and our holidays even more joyous, especially with the Chanukah parties! His family will forever be our family, with Hal looking over all of us.

     To my mom, Hal was her best friend and a father figure. To my sister and me, Hal was our Grandpa and he called us his grandchildren. To my Grandma, Hal was like a son. Hal even called my Grandma Rascon his mom. My children and my grandchildren will definitely know that there was once a legend named Hal and he changed our lives. Hal is that person in the room that, when you walk in, you immediately know you want to become friends with him. There is something captivating about every word he utters! We were lucky enough to adopt him into our family and have him adopt us into his family! 

 P.S. The Kiwanis Club of La Habra has very few members now. Unfortunately, some meetings consist of my mom, my grandma and maybe another member. This is an older club and the members have been steadily “passing away” over the years without any new members replacing them. If you would be interested in checking out the club or volunteering with their charity events, please let my mom or me know. The club currently meets every other Wednesday night at the La Habra community center. YOU DO NOT NEED TO LIVE IN LA HABRA to be in the Kiwanis Club of La Habra. Hal was a member of the club for around 20 years and did not move to La Habra until this year! Just yesterday, Hal told my mom that he thinks she will build up the Club to its former glory. If Hal ever made you laugh or smile, please consider joining the La Habra Kiwanis Club and help Hal’s selfless spirit live on in our community!

Much Love,
                   The Holmberg's - a family so blessed to have had Hal as one of their own!