Plea for mourners is answered

▶ GLORIA STARR died in St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, in August. She was in her 70s with no known family and the hospital kept her body in a morgue awaiting burial.

But after a staff member suggested to United Synagogue chaplain Rabbi Ari Cohen that Ms Starr was Jewish, a process was set in train that culminated in her burial last Friday at the US’s Waltham Abbey cemetery.

Fifteen people responded to an urgent request from the US to make up a minyan.

Rabbi Cohen tracked down Ms Starr’s birth certificate, as well as records of her mother and grandparents, discovering that she was born in America and came to London for work. Her only two visitors in hospital were former work colleagues.

The US funded the burial, which was officiated by Ruislip Synagogue’s Rabbi Stanley Coten, head of the US hospital visiting service.

Journalist James Masters was among those who answered the plea for mourners on Twitter.

“It was incredibly moving and quite remarkable,” he said.

“She had one friend who attended to give a eulogy... about how wonderful she was and the joy she brought to people.

“There is something special about our community that we will come out to be together at such short notice.”

US communications head Richard Verber told the JC: “We feel we have a obligation to do these things when someone dies with no family.

“Carrying out the funeral was the ultimate chesed shel emet [true act of kindness] because the person has no way of acknowledging the kindness shown to her.

“We are extremely grateful for the extraordinary work of the burial staff that helps make these funerals happen at short notice.”

‘It was incredibly moving and quite remarkable’