"When you buy a house in suburbia, you don't know who your neighbors will be. Lorraine and I were lucky to have Harvey and Libby Rosenberg living right next door to us.

We went to Libby's funeral last Sunday. She was 75.

She was a giant of a woman. In the body of this gentle, soft-spoken, patient and caring grandmother was a dynamic personality that people loved, cherished and respected.

The large crowd at Temple Beth Torah was a testament to the power of being good and kind during one's lifetime. She would listen to everyone and all would feel her sincerity and warmth. She had the ability to generate integrity and honesty in a simple one-on-one conversation.

She was ill for many years and even in her debilitated state she never complained and kept going for her faithful family and friends.

To have a good neighbor, you must be a good neighbor. We lived on Marshall Lane in Hicksville next to the Rosenbergs. They raised two 6-foot-5-inch sons, David and Joseph. These two, very large boys looked up to and adored their 5-foot-7-inch mother.

Libby and Harvey were married in 1952.

Libby was raised in Brooklyn and she was dragged kicking and screaming into the suburbs in 1967. After a while she loved her split-level house and all the room it afforded. She especially loved Temple Beth Torah, her second home. She wanted her funeral to be held there with Rabbi Michael Katz presiding. She was instrumental in hiring him right out of the seminary.

Libby became a Bat Mitzvah under the tutelage of Cantor Kalmen Fliegelman, who also instructed her sons, David and Joey.

She always said, "Praying makes me feel better." David and Joseph went on to become successful in their chosen fields - David a computer specialist and Joe, an attorney. They both married wonderful women - David and Francine and Joseph and Jennifer. Libby had five grandchildren (all tall) Max, Alana, Jacob, Jack and Joshua.

Jennifer delivered a magnificent eulogy to their mother-in-law, Libby. Jennifer said, "How many women grow up and want to be like their mother-in-law?" It was more like a mother and daughter relationship.

The Rosenbergs eventually moved to Jericho, where they lived with Joseph and Jennifer and three children, an aunt and uncle and other assorted relatives. It is called "Multigenerational Living."

Libby, who became president of Temple Beth Torah, was "persuasive without raising her voice." She was a "righteous woman" and declared "perfect" by her daughter-in-law.

If you wanted to know how to face adversity and illness, you just had to look at Libby.

As former neighbors, Lorraine and I would say very softly, "Our lives have been greatly enriched by knowing Libby Rosenberg."