Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 25, 2005 Page: 7 of 24
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TJP V59-34 08-25-05 p05-08 8/23/05 6:16 PM Page 7
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August 25,2005
In Our 59th Year
Texas Jewish Post
revor Stokol remembered for living life to its ullest
By Harriet P. Gross
The too-short life of Trevor
Eric Stokol was memorial-
ized and celebrated on
Wednesday evening, Aug. 17 at
Chabad of Dallas - the Shul, on
Levelland Road.
The hall was set with 850 chairs,
but people filled them all and more
stood around its perimeter as Rabbi
Mendel Dubrawsky led a brief,
moving service that began with the
reading ofPsalm 121: "I lift my eyes
to the mountains..."
It was at Mount Everest that
Stokol, 25, disappeared on July 22.
He had left his travelling compan-
ions, venturing out alone to
photograph the mountain's face.
These were to be the last pictures
chronicling an eight-month trek that
had already taken him to eight other
countries, including India, China,
Thailand, Viet Nam and Laos, before
this final stop in Nepal.
In his extemporaneous remarks,
Rabbi Dubrawsky reminded the
crowd that Trevor's father, mother
and sister had already accepted the
beyond-human-understanding
edicts of the "True Judge" as they
began sitting shiva three days before.
It is time for condolences after the
third day, he said. A half-hour break
following the memorial allowed
those attending to visit briefly with
the Stokol family, to hug and kiss
them and share tears, before the start
of the Maariv service.
A reading concluding with "The
dust returns to the earth as it was,
But the spirit returns to God who
gave it," led by Rabbi Dubrawsky in
Hebrew with English responses from
this congregation, was followed by
the rabbi speaking directly to the
young man who had become his
friend, sharing reminiscences: "I'm
sorry you're not here to answer
back," he said. Afterward Barbara
Stokol lit the traditional memorial
candle for her son. The family had
conceded reluctantly, after an intense
but fruitless three-week search for
Trevor or any sign of him, that
nature had staked her claim — per-
haps by avalanche, perhaps by
crevasse.
L
Trevor Stokol, z"\, in Agra, India last
November
Trevor had not come to Nepal to
climb Everest, but to see and photo-
graph it from a spot at its base. This
is where he left his friends that last
day with his last words: "You can
start looking for me if I'm not back
by dark."
Dr. Arnold Stokol, speaking to the
crowd, told of his son's lifelong insis-
tance on learning all things first
hand, having to test out everything
for himself. "'Because I say so' was
never an option," he said, bringing
smiles to the faces of those who had
known Trevor best. In her words
following, Trevor's mother acknowl-
edged that their boy had not been an
easy child to raise, but "we wouldn't
have had it any other way?
The multi-talented young man
had taken a year off between gradu-
ation from Emory University and his
studies at University of Texas South-
western Medical Center, which he
was due to begin on Aug. 15. Medi-
cine was his career choice, but he was
also a gifted photographer and
writer.
The illustrated journal of his final
adventure can be accessed on line at
www.ballofdirt.com, the interna-
tional Web site for independent trav-
elers and backpackers, where one of
his entries exultantly proclaims:
"These ARE the good old days." His
journal, coupled with the news of his
disappearance, have inspired many
others across the world to offer their
own memorials to Trevor.
Arnold Stokol and his brother
Ellwyn flew to Katmandu almost
immediately after first learning of
Trevor's disappearance; Barbara
and Jodi, Trevor's sister, joined them
there for the final week of the
search. It had called upon 30 native
sherpas, experienced climbers from
both Belgium and Australia with
personal knowledge of the area, var-
ious helicopters, and advanced
thermal imaging equipment.
Noting that Everest is the site of
memorials to many who have lost
their lives there over the years, the
Stokols announced at the service
that they would make the trek again
themselves in 2006, to place their
own memorial for Trevor.
Two funds have been established
to help the Stokols meet the
immense costs of the futile search.
Dr. Stokol is an active member of
Richardson Rotary, which
announced its Stokol Family Assis-
tance Fund at the club's Aug. 1
meeting, and Monday that almost
$20,000 had already been raised.
This fund will remain active until
next Monday, Aug.29; checks made
out to Richardson Rotary with nota-
tions for the Stokol Fund may be
sent to the club at RO. Box 832224,
Richardson, TX 75083-2224.
The Trevor Stokol Fund, also ded-
icated 100 percent for search-related
expenses in Nepal, has been set up
by the Western Disaster Center's
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In addition, Trevor will be memo-
rialized at the Ann and Nate Levine
Academy (Solomon Schechter), in
Dallas, that he attended as a child. Its
Trevor Stokol Memorial Scholarship
Fund "will help underwrite financial
assistance to qualified students and
will perpetuate the memory of this
wonderful and unique young man,"
according to Fred Nathan, Head of
School. Contributions to this fund
may be sent directly to the school at
18011 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas 75287.
The service of remembrance and
tribute ended with Rabbi
Dubrawsky's chanting of the Eil
Moleh Rachamim — God full of
compassion — which concludes
"...may he rest in his resting-place in
peace, and let us say Alien."
An upbeat message, so poignant
after the fact, appeared in Trevor's
journal on July 13, less than ten days
before he disappeared: "I am walking
to Mount Everest tomorrow, to get
some good pictures and play on the
glaciers. And then...I'M COMING
HOME on August 1st. I'm having a
slideshow open house on the after-
noon of August 7th, so if you're in
Dallas, come on over. There will be
tea. Here's to living dreams!!"
True to the spirit of their son and
brother, and his living dreams, the
Stokols intend to hold that slide
show an d tea, at some as-yet-un de-
termined date in the future.
See related "In My Mind's I" on page 22.
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Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 25, 2005, newspaper, August 25, 2005; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth188094/m1/7/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .