The loss of life is never an easy thing for the survivors of family members to endure. The uncertainty of the afterlife is one that many people question as their loved ones shuffle off their mortal coil and leave this life for something that is unknown. In almost every culture there is a time set aside for the mourning of loved ones that have passed on and for the Jewish culture the tradition of sitting Shiva for loved ones encompasses a week long mourning for the departed soul by the seven closest living relatives. Many of the day to day activities of life are suspended out of respect for the departed and to allow the family proper time to grieve the passing of their loved ones.
 
When a person has led a long and productive life it is often easier to say goodbye to them as they grow older and their health begins to fail. At the services of the departed eulogies commemorate the details of a life well spent. For people that have made a difference to the way that others live the funeral services can be difficult as the sadness of the occasion brings back happier memories that are now past and may never be revisited.

In January of 2008 the matriarch of the Riklis family was released from her mortal bounds at the end of her life, but the surviving her are her three children and their families. In keeping her light burning her son Ira Riklis is carrying on some of the work that was so important to her and is actively involved in the charitable causes that this woman became associated with.