H y (Chaim) Miklacki was 85 years old when he began his trek back to full mitzvah observance. I referred to him as the oldest baal teshuvah in the shul.
Hy attended shul three times a day including the shiur between Minchah and Maariv. He arrived for Shacharis ten minutes before the minyan began to make sure he had his tallis and tefillin on before davening commenced. When he passed away this past June at age 97 this octogenarian baal teshuvah — a self-effacing modest man — was privileged to have dozens of committed Jews escort him to his final rest.
Hy Miklacki was born in Bialystok on 23 Kislev 5680 (December 15 1919). When World War II began Hy made his way to the Russian-controlled area and was relegated to a work camp in Siberia for the duration of the war. When the war ended and he realized his family was no more he made his way to the United States where he settled in Passaic.
There he met and married his dear wife Ethel. For 53 years they toiled together raising their two children Joel and Ellen.
