CECIL AND DAVID ROSENTHAL: ‘SWEET, GENTLE, CARING MEN’

Cecil and David Rosenthal went through life together with help from a disability-services organization. And an important part of the brothers’ lives was the Tree of Life synagogue, where they never missed a Saturday’s services, people who knew them say.

“If they were here, they would tell you that is where they were supposed to be,” Chris Schopf, a vice president of the organization ACHIEVA, said in a statement.

Achieva provides help with daily living, employment and other needs, and the organization had worked for years with Cecil, 59, and David, 54, who were among the 11 killed in Saturday’s deadly shooting. They lived semi-independently, and Cecil was a person who was up for all sorts of activities: a concert, lunch at Eat ‘n Park — a regional restaurant chain known for its smiley-face cookies — even a trip to the Duquesne University dining hall, recalls David DeFelice, a Duquesne senior who was paired with him in a buddies program.

“He was a very gregarious person — loved being social, loved people . ... You could put him any situation, and he’d make it work,” chatting about the weather or asking students about their parents and talking about his own, says DeFelice.

And when DeFelice recognized Hebrew letters on Cecil’s calendar, the elder man was delighted to learn that his buddy was also Jewish and soon invited him to Tree of Life. DeFelice joined him on a couple of occasions and could see that Cecil cherished his faith and the sense of community he found at temple.

Emeritus Rabbi Alvin Berkun saw that, too, in Cecil and David.

“They really found a home at the synagogue, and people reciprocated,” he said.

Cecil carried a photo in his wallet of David, whom Schopf remembers as a man with “such a gentle spirit.”

“Together, they looked out for each other,” she said. “Most of all, they were kind, good people with a strong faith and respect for everyone around.”

The two left an impression on state Rep. David Frankel, who sometimes attends services at Tree of Life and whose chief of staff is the Rosenthals’ sister.

“They were very sweet, gentle, caring men,” Frankel said. “... I know that this community will really mourn their loss because they were such special people.”