Jan Abernathy Pickett

Posted on: Apr 16, 2020 at 3:35 AM

Posted on: Apr 16, 2019 at 3:33 AM

Check Ronda Roberts Garner's post about Skip submitted on 10/1/18.

By Harry Harelik from the Waco Tribune-Hearld.  A loving tribute to Leibel (Larry) Harelik.

Harry Harelik, Board of Contributors: Twin brother Leibel was no mere mirror figure

    HARRY HARELIK Board of Contributors Apr 27, 2018 (1)

For the first time in my life, I won’t be celebrating a birthday with my twin brother, who recently passed away after a valiant 16-year battle with prostate cancer. However, memories of him — Leibel as he was called in later life — remain vibrant and colorful.

We always laughed about the reality that, other than our last name, we had very little in common for brothers, much less for twins. Since birth, other than looking alike as babies, we developed very differently. He was shorter and a bit more stocky than me. He hated school and I loved the challenge of education. He was a cut-up and much more popular than his more serious, task-oriented brother. He was a risk taker and didn’t mind pushing the envelope while I was a rule follower, calm and careful.

Though we both dedicated time to help our parents in their men’s retail clothing business in Waco, Leibel remained in the family business for several years while I completed my college education and went on to establish an accounting business. After the clothing business closed with our parents’ retirement, Leibel fulfilled his strong wanderlust while I remained in our hometown working long dedicated hours.

Leibel traveled to Israel and became part of the Israeli volunteer army. In sharp contrast to his half-hearted dedication to the Jewish religion in childhood, he became religiously orthodox. After several years in Israel, Leibel returned to the United States and decided to attend a culinary institute in Baltimore. He later moved to Denver, spending several years overseeing the preparation of kosher foods and becoming a kosher chef. He only returned to Texas after 30 years of savoring the world.

Leibel was one of those rare individuals who always had time to stop and talk not only with friends but also those about whom he knew nothing. He never met a stranger. He was able to engage others on any topic at any time. He would have great fun complimenting a stranger on his or her dog or other pet, clothing, jewelry, hairstyle or any of a hundred other things by which he could strike up a conversation. It was said that within five minutes, he knew everything about a stranger’s life or family, including blood type. For this gift, he became unforgettable.

Unfortunately, upon his return to Waco 16 years ago, he was diagnosed with what at that time was termed terminal prostate cancer with a short six-month survival time frame. It was here the character of my brother truly changed. He became a health warrior, researching treatment alternatives and opportunities not only for himself but for a host of new friends with whom he shared the dismal prognosis of cancer.

After a couple of years in Waco, he moved to Austin where he married a nurse who had entered the medical community. He began to seek out and take advantage of any experimental treatment he could find that would permit him to participate, possibly yielding some positive effect on his survival prospects.

In his decade and one-half of treatment, Leibel counseled prostate cancer patients and lobbied in Washington, D.C., to improve funding for prostate cancer research. He worked with Austin activists on the potential of establishing special parks or areas for prostate cancer survivors. And he quite obviously found a way to survive for many years beyond his original prognosis. His is the story of one serving others even in times of personal tragedy.

Throughout his odyssey far and near, he always managed to call to celebrate our common birthday, even if only by phone. While we rarely celebrated the day face to face after high school graduation, he relished the idea of celebrating with someone who shared the same parents and same date of birth.

But this year will be different. There won’t be a brother’s call on the special day.

This birthday, I will remember the brother with whom I shared a life. And I will think not only of him and the life he chose but also all those who have lost siblings in childhood or later in life. The emptiness and solitude will be heavy this birthday, but there is also fulfillment and comfort in knowing that memories abound well beyond a sibling’s passing.

After Leibel’s death, cards, emails, phone calls and messages of all sorts came from in and out of the country, remembering this friend to so many. It’s encouraging to hear so many stories of the difference my brother made in so many lives. His memory lives on in the minds and hearts of a multitude of fans and, in reality, Leibel lives on as well.

He might have joked in his own way that this year the call would have to be long distance with the charges reversed. I would gladly pay whatever fee to answer the phone one more time.

Posted on: Apr 16, 2018 at 3:34 AM

Posted on: Jul 10, 2017 at 12:46 PM

Posted on: Apr 16, 2017 at 3:33 AM

New hotel information added

Posted on: Apr 16, 2016 at 3:33 AM

Posted on: Mar 24, 2016 at 10:30 AM

Rick: Tim Hussey says he's also running for president. Thank goodness there are now more choices than we had before you two threw your hats in the ring!