Hundreds of good deeds committed in honor of teen pilot who died in crash
Hanging on the hallways of the Chabad of Waukesha-Brookfield are hundreds of small slips of white paper.
But they’re not empty — quite the opposite, in fact.
These pieces of paper carry the legacy of Daniel Perelman, who died after he crashed his plane in Wauwatosa in late May.
Each slip of paper includes a positive deed that the person plans to do in honor of Perelman’s life. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 1,300 “kindnesses” had been pledged as part of The Deeds for Daniel Memorial Drive, which was organized by the Chabad of Waukesha-Brookfield. “Donate to a local charity or event.” “Spend some extra time with somebody who is alone.”
“Compliment a stranger.”
They’re simple yet powerful actions that many have taken in honor of the Brookfield native’s life.
“Even strangers have made a written commitment to do a positive action in memory of Daniel, and many have included a message to his family, filled with love and support,” said Rabbi Levi Brook with the Chabad of Waukesha-Brookfield.
“The family is so touched by these thoughtful messages and the pledges of kindness, they decided to print out every single message and good deed that anyone committed and have pasted them across the walls of our synagogue,” Brook added.
On Thursday afternoon, Perelman was laid to rest at a funeral at the Mound Zion Cemetery in Brookfield. Hundreds gathered in honor of the 18year-old, who was attending Northwestern University.
Perelman was an active participant of the Northwestern Chabad, where Rabbi Mendy Weg knew him well.
“Daniel was a very, very special young man, and the memories and feelings of him that have been generated over the last few days have been unreal for someone who has been on campus for a mere 25, 30 weeks. To generate this type of impact is astounding,” Weg said before the funeral.
Weg said he brought handwritten letters from students at the university to share with the family.
“He wanted to elevate and bring everybody that was around him up
with him,” Weg said of Perelman.
Perelman, an aspiring pilot, also attended Brookfield Academy for high school. He leaves behind his parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, classmates, friends and all who knew and loved him, according to a statement from the Chabad Jewish Center of Waukesha County.
“Daniel had so much going for him: great family, great personality, smart, ambitious and driven but always humble, kind and caring,” Brook said.
“Everyone who got to meet Daniel, in any capacity, shared that they could feel from his gentle eyes and smile that he genuinely cared for him,” Brook added.
Fraidy Brook, also with the Chabad of WaukeshaBrookfield, is hopeful the memorial continues to grow in the coming days and weeks
“It feels like we need to keep doing that, we need to keep going, because for his family, he’s not coming back, so this is the least we can do,” Fraidy Brook said.
Crash still under investigation
Perelman made a distress call to air traffic control shortly before the plane crashed into the backyard of a home in the 4600 block of North 103rd Street on May 26, according to the Wauwatosa Police Department.
An ambulance took Perelman to a hospital, where he died two days later, according to a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Perelman had flown solo before, his father told the medical examiner’s office.
Perelman took off from Timmerman Airport, made one pass, landed and took off again immediately, then radioed he was having engine failure, according to the report. The aircraft was a single-engine Cessna 152.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.