A loyal partner of Chabad of Naples, our reliable Shofar blower, a treasured friend

With deep sorrow we mourn the sudden passing of Gil Block, Gershon ben Zelig, yesterday.

A loyal partner of Chabad of Naples, our reliable Shofar blower, a treasured friend, and a very sweet person: he is sorely missed. A true special light and beautiful soul has departed, and the entire Naples community has lost a gem of a person.

Gil had told me he expected to return from a visit with his children to celebrate the High Holidays with us, and how he was looking forward to blowing the Shofar. However, he became ill and passed away.

I am happy that I had an opportunity to speak with him a few days ago, and to tell him how much we loved him. When his wife Diane said he might not return for the High Holidays, I told him we would miss him but looked forward to his coming back to Chabad Naples.

Two days ago Gil's daughter mentioned to me that he really was not doing well. So I called my dear friend and colleague Rabbi Levi Potasch, who is the Chabad rabbi there, to go and pray with him and send him my love and give him a hug.

He went there and he put on tefillin with Gil, spoke Yiddish with him, prayed with him, and then put the shofar by his lips and Gil smiled beautifully.

Gil was such a sweet soul. We had an amazing relationship. Every Shabbat together was special, and he uplifted us all with his warmth. He always had something special to say and always showered praise upon our work. He loved what we did and we loved him back. He was also involved in so many other interests such as the Jewish war veterans and a host of other organizations in our community.

This Rosh Hashanah will be even more powerful than usual, as Gil will be blowing the Shofar from on high. He will be with us as he always was. He was such a man amazing and beautiful person. And his last words to me were, “ I love you”.

We mourn and express our deepest condolences to his wife Diane, his daughter Susie, and his son.

May the Block family & our community only know of Simchas.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday at 1 PM at Beth Shalom cemetery - 1501 Anderson Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15209. There will be a Maariv service Tuesday night at Chabad Naples at 7:00 pm as we honor this special human being in the Chabad Naples that he called home.