A Day In Philly

It was a beautiful November Saturday, sunny, with temps approaching 70 degrees. It was as if some benevolent spirit had ordered up this unseasonable pleasant weather. 

Our day kicked off at Saint Peters Church in Philadelphia. Saint Peters first opened for business in 1761. Its first rector, William White, was also the chaplain to the U.S. Congress, during the Revolutionary war. The original high-backed box pews are still in use today, including the box reserved for the then mayor Samuel Powel, though it was frequently used by George and Martha Washington.  Outside is the church cemetery, where many heroes of the Revolution rest in peace. 

This particular Saturday, however, was all about the memorial for Jonathan. The church was filled with family and friends, as well as a handful of Humble Dollar folk, many of whom had never met Jonathan in person. Although I only knew him through a few dozen email conversations, Jonathan made me feel as if we were personally acquainted. 

The homilies, given by his children, Hannah and Henry, brother Andy, his mom, and friends Jason Zewig and Bill Bernstein drove home just how special Jonathan was. (Hannah, you brought a few tears to my eyes.)

Jason and Bill are big deals in the world of personal finance, and I’m pretty sure sitting a few rows behind me was Christine Benz from Morningstar, whose articles I have read for many years. I felt a bit out of place in the presence of these people I so admire. I suspect that if Jonathan could comment, he would say something like, “nonsense, you belong here too”.  

Often when I post to HD, I wrongly feel as if I’m only talking to a small group of regular contributors; there are, of course, thousands who silently follow the blog. During lunch at a nearby pizzeria after the service, I met three non-contributing readers of the blog, who also thought enough of Jonathan to attend the service. (It was an honor to break bread with John, Dan, and Sanjiv).  I want to give a special thanks to fellow contributor, George Jones, who posts as Eludom, for making the reservation at a pizzeria down the street from St Peters.   

Philadelphia was on our bucket list of cities to visit. We had hoped to make it to a HD pizza dinner that Jonathan spoke of putting together in the summer of 2024, before his diagnosis. Chris and I are so happy to have made this trip in order to pay our respects to the man that so many called a friend.