While researching the Mohave County Jewish history, I came across the name Nathan Shapiro, who died in Kingman in 1920.
Who was Nathan Shapiro, and what was he doing in Kingman?
I quickly found his grave online, and two newspaper snippets giving some details:
Mojave County Miner and Our Mineral Wealth Newspaper,14 Aug 1920
Mojave County Miner and Our Mineral Wealth Newspaper, 4 Sep 1920
Nathan was on his way to New York from Los Angeles and was taken off the train to Albuquerque and thrown into a Kingman jail, due to his “peculiar behavior” on the train.
Days later, on Aug. 11, 1920, Nathan died in jail of tuberculosis, and reports said he was buried at the county’s expense.
A later news clipping reported that he was taken to Los Angeles for a Jewish burial.
His death certificate, however, lists the burial place as Kingman, as do documents I obtained from the University of Arizona archives in Tucson.
Little was known about Nathan or his family, with most fields on the death certificate inscribed with “don’t know.”
Digging further, with the help of some friends, I discovered the fuller picture, as well as the dates of the above clippings.
The second news clipping was from September, and what it was reporting was that Nathan’s remains were being reinterred from Kingman to Los Angeles, by the Jewish Free Burial Society of Los Angeles.
Someone, it seems, had discovered Nathan’s family, or they had discovered what had happened to him, leading to his burial at Mount Zion Cemetery in East L.A.
Nathan was reburied in Los Angeles in September and three months later, his mother, Clara (or Chaya) died, and she is buried next to him (in fact, her Yahrtzeit is today, the seventh of Teves).
Going to great lengths to ensure all Jews have a Jewish burial is a time-honored Jewish tradition in all communities, and Havasu is no exception. We ensure that every Jew in the area will be afforded a Jewish burial, regardless of financial ability.
Incidentally, the Mount Zion Cemetery, long abandoned by the L.A. Jewish community, was restored by my colleague, Rabbi Moshe Greenwald of Chabad of Downtown LA and a grassroots campaign of funders and volunteers.
May the memory of Nathan Shapiro (Nochum ben Avraham) be blessed, and his story not forgotten.