In 1996  I asked Bernie Basker, husband of my deceased cousin Eileen nee Lanfeld, if there are any Licht relatives living in Israel. He remembered that his mother-in-law Leah Lanfeld nee Licht, many years before had contacted her relatives living in Haifa. He searched and found Micha Lichthouse, and talked to him on the phone. Then they had a meeting in person.

Micha and I had about three exchanges of postal service mail, which was slow. Then I learned that Micha worked at Technion Institute as a computer technician, with 1,000 computer network, so then we had exchanges by email.  We exchanged photos of our grandfather’s gravestones.

 It took awhile, until we realized and acknowledged that that we both have the same great-grandfather Gedalya, and his grandfather Joseph and my grandfather Louis are brothers.

Micha wrote that his grandfather was Joseph Gedalya Lichthouse, born 1873, immigrated to (Palestine) Israel about 1925. He had six children. Only one was alive in 1996, Shimon (Simon), who lived  in Southern CA, and Micha hoped I would contact Shimon.

Joseph and Reisel Lichthouse’s six children are: Sara married Zvi Kornfeld, Ixchak married Chaya, Leah married Natanel Linder,  Jakob married Genya, Simon and Motti never married.

Micha wrote that his father, Jacob Eliezer Lichthouse, died in 1944 at age 39, when Micha was 10. His uncle Motti immigrated to Mexico and died at about 30. His aunt Zippora died at about 20 from a disease. His aunt Leah immigrated to the U.S. in about 1955.

Micha’s  grandfather Josef immigrated to Palestine from Warsaw in 1925 because of his orthodox Judaism and Zionism.  Reisel immigrated one year later, and they were married in Haifa.  Josef and his son Jacob were in the used bottle business in Haifa. Jacob traveled to Lebanon and other countries for business, contracted a disease traveling that later caused his death.

Josef’s surname in Warsaw was Lechtus, he changed it in Palestine (Israel) to Lichthaus, and later to Lichthouse.

Micha’s  grandfather Josef immigrated to Palestine from Warsaw in 1925 because of his orthodox Judaism and Zionism.  Reisel immigrated one year later, and they were married in Haifa.  Josef and his son Jacob were in the used bottle business in Haifa. Jacob traveled to Lebanon for business, contracted a disease there that caused his death.

The next letter from Micha talked about our coming trip to Israel, and he concluded “I hope to see you in our country Israel (if you don’t mind I said our)”, which I liked.

 In March 1997 Carolynn and I took a land tour of Turkey, and afterwards went to Israel. At the time we were in Jerusalem, Micha was vacationing at the Raddison Moria Plaza hotel at the Dead Sea. We took a bus from Jerusalem, and for the first time met our second cousins Micha Lichthouse and his wife Ora, and Zippora Klopstock and her husband Jochanan. We visited in the lounge with a view of the Dead Sea. They were very friendly, and we all were enthusiastic about knowing our relationship. It was especially meaningful to me, because I hadn’t known about these relatives in Israel until I was 69. 

Jochanan and Zipora Klopstock knew Sol and Faye Friedman. Years before they had visited them in San Francisco, had gone to Carmel with them. They knew Faye, as the sister of Yitzchak Calic who lived in Hadera, Israel.

Zippora remembered  when she and her family met my mother and father when they visited Israel in 1966. They met Sept. 22 in Haifa. She has a picture. Present with Mayer and Sarah Licht, Zippora’s  parents Yizchak and Chaya Lichthouse, Zippora and Jochanan and their son Roni  and daughter Odeya, Zippora’s sister Shamira , Zippora’s brother Menachaem-Mendel and his wife Yaffa and their son Metanya.

Micha worked in the auto industry before the Technion. His wife Ora is a retired teacher.  Ziporha is a retired teacher, and Jochanan is a retired chemist at Technion.  

In Jerusalem we met my second cousin Tzippy nee Linder and her husband Murray Kleiner, for the first time, it was 1997. We had dinner with them: at their home March 11, at a Kurdish restaurant March 12, Shabbat at their home March 14. They were very friendly and hospitable. We were happy to meet. Tzippy is an artist, and Murray worked for the police department as a specialist in lie detector testing.  We met their two sons Ariel and Joaw at their house, and their daughter Mira was married soon after our visit. Later Murray died in 2006.

Feb.13, 1997 I talked to Simon Lechtus briefly on the phone. He asked would I come to Los Angeles to see him, phone him first. I talked to him May 19, 1997, and Carolynn and I flew to Orange County May 21 and visited with him for 4 hours in the afternoon. He lived in a Del Webb Leisure World in Laguna Hills. He swam daily, played pool, saw movies. Attended programs and Jewish services.

 He was serious, but also smiled and had a sense of humor. He stood erect, and appeared to be strong and in good health. He took us to lunch at a nearby restaurant. He gave us a lot of important family information  Micha and I  hadn’t known.

He told us when he first came to the U.S. he took a greyhound bus from Southern CA. to San Jose, my father met him, and he visited my father’s brother Ben and my grandfather Louis at their Starlight Furniture company. He remembered my father’s smile, and that my father told him “you will make it” He called Louis the “old man”. He said I was away in Sacramento at the time of his visit (USAF 1951-1954).  He said he had met Shia (Sy) Maltzer several times. He said he first met Louis when Louis visited his father Josef in Haifa, Israel in 1935.

I asked Simon why his surname was Lechtuz, and he said that was how the name  sounded in Europe. It was years later that I learned that Lechtus is Yiddish for lighthouse, and that was my grandfather Louis’s surname in the ship’s register when he and his family immigrated.

Simon was born in Warsaw, had his Bar Mitzvah and went to Heder there, his father made men’s pants  there.  In Israel Simon was active in the Histadrut, they asked people to join the British Army, and Simon joined before World War II started, was in the army for 7 years until the War ended, when he was a Staff Sergeant. For 4 years he was stationed outside of Bombay, India, and once was sent to Burma. He went back to Israel after the War, and he “didn’t see fighting during the War of Independence” in 1947.

In the U.S. he first worked for Friedman Bag Company for one year, for one dollar per hour. Then he bought used bags from stores and resold them. He opened a hardware and furniture store in Placerville, for one year.  He bought a building in Southern CA, lived in it and ran a hardwood store there.  He bought a lot, and with a partner built 14 stores, later sold it.  At Leisure World in Laguna Hills he bought a unit in a highrise which he leased, and a condo he lived in.

After we met, I sent him two one page letters with questions, which he answered. He sent us a New Years card. Nov. 2000 I received a phone call from Tim Benson of Orange County, he told me Simon Lechtuz died Nov. first. He said Simon had started to write a Will leaving his assets to Michael and Abraham, but didn’t sign it so it is not a legal Will.

Simon was buried by the County in Lake Forest. His will requested burial in Haifa.  Micha had his body moved to Israel, and buried in the same cemetery in Haifa where Micha’s father was buried. Simon was 88 when he died. When I had asked him his age, he said “it didn’t matter”. He died of heart failure, had been in the hospital one week.

His signed Will left his estate to the Israel government, so that he would have a military funeral and be buried in Israel.  The unsigned will was to leave his estate to his nieces and nephews. Some of them sued, a trial was held in So. Ca. Sept. 23, 2002. I flew there, and was a witness, because I was the last relative that saw Simon.  The signed Will prevailed.

I  had talked to my second cousin Philip Linder at the time of my first phone call to Simon Lechtuz. Philip lives in Laguna Hills. Carolynn and I had dinner with Philip and his wife Maria at Boulevard restaurant, when he was at the S.F. Furniture Mart for his furniture stores. Their son Joseph was at home

In So. Ca. I saw second cousin Philip Linder again, and I met for the first time my second cousin Josseffa nee Linder married to Jugin Teitel.

2008 Carolynn and I went on a land trip to Israel with Beth Jacob Synagogue, which included many interesting JNF sponsored locations. One day in Tel Aviv Bernie Basker met us, and we went on the train to Haifa. Bernie was our translator, because we read Hebrew but do not know conversational Hebrew. and we were very happy to see him again.  We were met at the Haifa station by Jochanan and Zioppora Klopstock, who took us to their apartment, where we had a nice visit and a delicious lunch.  Then they took us to the apartment of Micha and Ora Lichthouse. Micha’s brother Abraham and his wife Nomi were there. We knew Micha was seriously ill with cancer. We had a nice visit, and refreshments,  and then we said goodbye to Micha who was sitting on the couch. As we got to the door, Micha walked over, thanked us again for seeing him and another goodbye. Micha died in YYYY.

In 2013 Carolynn and I took a land tour of Croatia and Slovenia, and afterwards a visit to Israel. One day Tzippy Kleiner came to Jerusalem, and as I reported in detail at visits to Israel, we walked from our hotel past the Kind David Hotel, in and through the Mamilla Center, through the Jaffa gate of the Old City, and toured the Kind David Citadel, which we hadn’t done since our first trip to Israel with B’nai B’rith in 1975.  

Another day Bernie Basker met us at the train station in Tel Aviv. We took the train to Karkur, to Tzippy Kleiner’ apartment, where she served us lunch, and we visited. We met for the first time my second cousin Nurit Harari who was there. Tzippy’s son and grandson were there. 

Then we took the train to Haifa, and we had dinner at a restaurant. Present was Bernie, Carolynn, and I. My second cousins present were Zippora and husband Jochanan Klopstock, Tzippy Kleiner, Ora Lichthouse, Abraham and Noni Lichthouse, and we met for the first time second cousin Zippora Jechiali.  Zippora Jechiali and Nur Harari are sisters.

Ora Lichthouse died in YYYY.

Avrahum Lichthouse died in 2019.

We miss the Lichthouse relatives who have died. May they rest in peace, and may their memory be a blessing.