Harold Alpert was a beloved father, grandfather, brother and friend.   Harold lived life filled with love, with honest hard work and with traditional values.

    Harold was born in New Haven in 1919 to Mollie and Jacob Alpert.  He was a good loyal son who was close to his beloved brother Bob who always meant so much to him.  

    One of our favorite stories is how Harold and Ruth met.  There were these two girlfriends from Poland who remained close even after they came to America and lived in different states.  One of those friends had a granddaughter named Ruth and the other had a grandson named Harold.  Ruth asked Harold to a dance and they were married in April 1943.  The Draft Board changed Harold's status and all of a sudden he found himself in the Army.  He served as a glider-trained Radio Operator in the China Burma India Theater.  Thanks G-d he returned home.  They moved to 144 Oberlin Road in 1949 and lived in Hamden the rest of their lives.  Together they raised Dorothy, Bruce and Kenneth.  Harold was a good and wise father who loved his children very much.  He was anxious to provide well for them.  For many years he was a partner in the accounting firm of Alpert, Heiberger, Mirel and Donovan.  He was respected in his profession and was honest and conscientious and a man of his word.  He used his skills in the community.  At our shul he was Chairman of the Cemetery Committee, and was active on other committees.  He was the Treasurer of the Jewish Historical Society of New Haven and of the Hillhouse Class of 1936 Reunion Committee.  This is exactly as it should be.  We should bring our skills and talents to the community and offer our services.  Harold has the merit of being buried in a cemetery that he helped to sustain.

    Harold had exactly the kind of life he expected.  He had a loving wife and wonderful children.  He was a respected member of the community who contributed to that community in important ways.

    His children have taken such wonderful care of him.  Dorothy and Terrance, Bruce and Joanna, and Kenneth and Anna Pat, and Seth and Hannah all meant so much to him.

    With the help of family and some friends, Harold put together a booklet of stories and anecdotes about his life.  If you haven't seen it, we'll give you a copy.  When you read it, you get into the heart and mind of this wonderful man.  He remembered and appreciated everything.  He cherished his roots, his past, his tradition.  He would tell stories about being Jewish in the Army.  He loved to talk about how Judaism survives throughout the world.  He wanted all of us to respect the past, to honor it, not just for history's sake but because the values of the past are exactly those that we should live by now.  If we can be worthy of the past, a fact which now includes our friend Harold Alpert, we will live our lives with love and respect and honor.  He was a righteous man.