PITTSBURGH — Survivors mourned synagogue shooting victim Dr. Richard Gottfried as a “martyr” Thursday. “Rich is a martyr. How…
PITTSBURGH — Survivors mourned synagogue shooting victim Dr. Richard Gottfried as a “martyr” Thursday.
“Rich is a martyr. How fitting that we bury him on a very holy day for us Catholics, All Saints,” said wife and business partner Peg Durachko, who is Catholic.
Despite the couple’s differing religious beliefs, they always managed to find common ground, the grieving widow said.
“It took us 38 years but I think we got this acceptance and tolerance thing down pretty well,” she said. “We tried our best to share it with others. Evil has stolen him away from us, but we can keep his spirit alive. May his memory be for a blessing.”
The 65-year-old dentist was known for doing procedures pro-bono for the needy.
“Dentistry was not only his profession,” Gottfried’s rabbi, Jonathan Perlman, told mourners at the Ralph Schugar Chapel. “It was important to bring healthy smiles to people, no matter who they were. No matter where Richard walked in this world, he walked as God’s servant.”
Gottfried was among 11 killed when gunman Robert Bowers went on a rampage in the Tree of Life synagogue last Saturday in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U. S. history. Bowers faces 44 federal counts and a possible death penalty if convicted.
