Rona Ramon, the widow of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon who died of cancer yesterday, reportedly asked to be cremated to spare her children from having to bury another family member.
According to the Ynet news site, Ramon before her death left instructions that no funeral be held for her, and that her body be cremated.
The 54-year-old passed away after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her parents and three children: Tal, Yiftah and Noa.
Her husband, Israel’s first and only astronaut, was killed in the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster. Six years later, their son Asaf, who had followed in his father’s footsteps to become an Israeli air force fighter pilot, was killed in a training accident.
Ramon reportedly said at Asaf’s funeral that he was taking her spot at the cemetery.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
