When I was born 80 years ago, my parents had three teenage children. All have now passed away, my sister at the age of 96½. This marks the end of that era.

Many of you know that we come from Montgomery, Alabama, the Heart of Dixie. I was fortunate to go away to yeshiva, but what was it like in those years—the 1940s, before I was born? In short, what type of Jewish environment did my big sister have growing up?

One year ago, my daughter Shani decided the two of us should go visit Elsie. She said, "Let's go while she is alert and able to appreciate our visit." She bought the tickets and made all the arrangements.

I want to share with you what my sister told me about growing up in the Oberstein home long ago.

First of all, the grandparents lived in the house. Zayde Eliezer had a long white beard and was so frum that he refused to eat meat or chicken in America. He ate milchigs and fish.

Zayde had a Maariv minyan in our home every night. Elsie remembered sitting on the front porch when a car pulled up. There were three brothers from Georgia, and one said, "Is this the house where we can say Kaddish? We're passing through town, and they told us that at your house we can say Kaddish."

Elsie told them they had the right address: "Come on in."

Was Elsie close to her Bubby, Leah Weinstock? You couldn't get closer. They shared the same bed. Zayde slept in one bed, and Elsie and her grandmother shared the other. Elsie said that every night they would say Krias Shema together.

Bubby was in charge of the kitchen. The standards were set by her. I remember we had a blech on the stove, and my mother never, ever cooked on Shabbos. This was many years after her parents were no longer alive.

When I was about 5 years old, my sister got married. I wasn't allowed to attend because they thought I would act up.

She was a Jewish girl from a small Southern town. I think Hadassah gave her a scholarship to a one-week Zionist camp for college students, Brandeis Camp. Elsie was 17, and she met Julius, who was already a college graduate. They were told to bring a blanket for the campfire. Elsie "forgot" and asked this handsome guy if there was room on his blanket.

Fast forward: when they renewed their vows after 50 years, I was asked to officiate.

For many years, up to very recently, Elsie was the pillar of the shul in Fort Worth. She was the most devoted person, personally making sure that there was a luncheon every Shabbos. Otherwise, no one would come to shul. She raised her family and passed on her Yiddishkeit.

Then something amazing occurred.

One day, I got a phone call from Elsie's granddaughter, Elizabeth. She said, "Uncle Leonard, I have an Orthodox boyfriend, Ira. What do I do?"

She was a student at NYU at the time, and I put her in contact with Rabbi Yonoson Schippel of Gateways, and he took it from there.

Elsie's granddaughter became observant.

But it's more than that.

Lizzy Savetsky is a major influencer with over 500,000 followers. Originally she was a fashion influencer, but several years ago she gave that up because she now devotes her passion to supporting the State of Israel and promoting Jewish identity.

She lost many followers and received threats when she became pro-Israel, but she gained many more.

Today, Elsie's granddaughter and her husband, Dr. Ira Savetsky, are in the top echelons of the American pro-Israel scene. Best of all, their children are growing up shomer Shabbos and attend the same day school as a number of my grandchildren, SAR.

The moral of the story:

Elsie lived to see her own flesh and blood—her great-grandchildren—grow up in a way that would have made Zayde Eliezer and Bubby Leah proud.

Something eternal came from saying Krias Shema with her Bubby.