By Jeff Lipton
Several hundred mourners jammed into Boulevard-Riverside Chapel on Broadway in Hewlett to say their final farewell to Richman, who was 18. The line of mourners waiting to get into the chapel snaked around the block. Those paying their last respects included Hewlett-Woodmere School District officials and his uncle, Legislator Jeff Toback.
How and why could such a horrible thing happen to such a wonderful person? asked Richman's sister Alyssa, 17. No one can explain it.
Described as bright, handsome, athletic and intelligent, Richman was thought of as having had the world at his feet. After graduating from Hewlett High School in June 2002 as a scholar-athlete, he moved on to attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where he was planning a career as a sportswriter.
Those dreams came to a tragic end on Tuesday, Aug. 12. Richman and childhood friends Adam Cohen, and Jordan Satin, both 19, of Woodmere, all three of them counselors at Camp Baco in Minerva, N.Y., jumped into the rain-engorged waters of Split Rock Falls on the Boquet River in the Adirondacks, near Elizabethtown, to save a fellow counselor, David Altschuler, 18, of Philadelphia, who slipped and fell into the treacherous waters. All four drowned.
My brother was always someone I looked up to, Richman's sister said, her voice breaking with sorrow and pain. He was the best role model any brother or sister could ever have.
She said that in his 18 years, Jonah accomplished more than many could in a lifetime. Jonah, you were always doing the right thing. I assure you, Jonah, I will always remember you for all the wonderful things that you did.
Richman was remembered as a leader in the classroom and a leader on the football field, where he earned a starting spot in his senior year on the varsity team. He also was an accomplished swimmer, named to the all-county squad as a senior and a holder, along with Cohen, of the school record in the 200-meter freestyle relay.
Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg of Congregation Sons of Israel in Woodmere, where Richman had attended Hebrew School and had his bar mitzvah ceremonies, said the teen was blessed with a very good heart, and his decision to jump into the turbulent waters at Split Rock Falls was how he showed compassion for his fellow human beings.
He knew the risk was absolute, Ginsburg said. Your life takes precedence. I believe Jonah knew that. He just didn't fully understand how unforgiving the waters of Split Rock Falls were on Tuesday.
The rabbi said Richman was not seeking martyrdom or headlines when he made that fateful decision to jump into the water. He felt he had a moral responsibility to save a friend, Ginsburg said. The rabbi said he had known Richman for many years, and said he displayed sound judgment throughout his life. He was thinking, thinking with his heart, when he leaped into the dangerous water, the rabbi said.
Matt Cohen, Richman's close friend, said he was the envy of all the high school kids. I guess you can call him ÔMr. Everything,' for making the honor roll and becoming an accomplished athlete, among other achievements, Cohen said. Jonah, I truly looked up to you, he said. I miss you with all my heart.
Another friend, Adam Weitzman, said they shared a special friendship. We were always there for each other, in whatever we wanted to do, he said. Jonah, never let you down. Jonah was the type of person that people liked to be around.
He was the all-American kid who never let anything get in the way of his friends and his family, Weitzman added. Jonah, you are a brother to me.
He promised he would be there for Richman's younger brother, Zachary, to make sure he grows up to be the person you were.
I'll always be with you Jonah, now and forever. I'll see you again, he said.
After the funeral, burial took place at New Montefiore Cemetery in Farmingdale.
Rabbi Ginsburg announced to the mourners that a memorial fund had been established in the victims' name at Hewlett High School and a deserving graduating senior would receive the scholarship after demonstrating excellence in academics and his or her chosen sport.
