“He always had a big smile.”
Comments like that seemed to predominate as people learned of the death of Sam Clevenson and began to reminisce about him.
Since Friday, July 25, 2008, when Sam S. Clevenson, founder and publisher of The Jewish World, left this world at age 90, many have expressed their love, respect, and admiration for the man who helped unite the Jewish communities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, and became a low-profile institutional pillar. The Jewish World became the invisible glue that enabled diverse organizations to co-exist on the same page.
The newspaper is being published this week by a loyal staff and by Laurie and Jim Clevenson, who are utilizing an exemption in the halachic laws governing activities permissible during shivah, the seven days following the funeral of a close relative.
Jim Clevenson said, “We think our father would have felt that ‘the show must go on,’ because the newspaper is a necessary communal service.”
Under these circumstances, the blank space below is a token of the normal shut-down of business activities required for shivah observance. It also represents the void that Mr. Clevenson’s death will leave in the Jewish community, and in the hearts of many people.
Editor Laurie Clevenson has invited readers who would like to share their memories of experiences with Mr. Clevenson to send their written remarks to The Jewish World, 299 Schoolhouse Rd., Albany 12203, or by e-mail to news@JewishWorldNews.org.
