By Oliver B. Pollak in Richmond, California
In 2022 I was invited by Mary Goodman to prepare an exhibit about Passover for the Martinez Museum ecumenical program of religions in America. Karen and I gathered matzah boxes, haggadahs, seder plates, books about Pesach, Kosher for Pesach wines and other Passover symbols for “Matza in Martinez in 1878, and Passover in Camp Stoneman in 1943.” I created a takeaway printed program. We enjoy curating exhibits about writers, including the “Nobility of Doris Lessing” on the occasion of her receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.
On August 1 while in Oslo, Norway, I got a phone call from Mary. She said her question could wait. We returned to California and she called on Monday, August 24. Her best friend Lynn Peccianti Vehnekamp had died in June at the age of 76 in Texas. Lynn was born in 1949 to Martinez natives Harry and Shirley Peccianti. She attended Diablo Valley Junior College and worked for American Airlines. After moving to Texas, she represented fragrance brands including Drakkar, Armani, and Ralph Lauren. She worked for FedEx for 26 years before retiring.
She fought a courageous battle against lung cancer. There was no funeral or public viewing. Following cremation, her ashes were sent to Mary Goodman to be reunited with her beloved parents. Mary and Lynn had been friends since 1954 when they entered Kindergarten.
David
Lynn’s will bequeathed this Star of David to Mary Goodman. More than the Torah, Hannukah Menorah, of Israeli flag, the Magen David or “Shield of David” is the leading symbol of Judaism. Lynn was an Episcopalian. Mary is a Catholic and stated “I wear a crucifix and love it.” As for the Star of David she doesn’t “want to offend anyone but I want to gift it to someone who will appreciate it.”
We do not know how Lynn acquired the Star of David. Perhaps she received it as a talisman in her long battle against cancer. After 72 years of friendship Lynn trusted Mary to take appropriate action.
Mary felt it would be sacrilegious to sell it or melt down the Star of David. Mary had not previously seen the gold star. What should she do to honor Lynn’s trust and memory?
Mary is charged with finding a good home or a good cause. Solomon faced difficult decisions. Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law at NYU, has written the New York Times ethicist column since 2015. Perhaps Lynn’s Star of David could be donated to a charitable nonprofit like City of Hope that fights cancer.
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Oliver B. Pollak, Ph.D., J.D., is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, a lawyer, a member of the Institute for Historical Study, and a San Diego Jewish World correspondent based in Richmond, California.