Obituaries
ARNOLD FRIEMAN
Arnold Frieman — family man, philanthropist, businessman and Holocaust survivor —died peacefully on Friday, April 6, 2019, surrounded by his family.
Arnold is survived by his adored wife of 58 years, Myra — the love of his life, partner and advocate — and their beloved daughters and their husbands, Nona and Ashley Leibl and Gina and Jea Guertin. He also leaves his cherished grandchildren Marli Leibl and Josh Vickar, Lexi Leibl, Benji Leibl, Mara and Benji Ostrove, Cayli Weinberg and Sara and Warren Gardiner. He was thrilled to welcome into his family his cherished great-grandchildren Emerson and Brooks Vickar and Cameron Ostrove. He also leaves his sister, Elizabeth Samuel, his sister-in-law, Rita Silver, his nieces and nephews and many friends.
Arnold’s family is his legacy — and his revenge against the murderous tyranny of Hitler’s Nazis.
Arnold was born in Hungary in 1928, one of six children in a tight-knit Orthodox Jewish family whose happy life was destroyed by the Holocaust. He went to a Jewish elementary school, but his town lacked a Jewish secondary school and his parents sent him to relatives in Budapest for further education. He was there when he heard that Jews outside Budapest were being rounded up and shipped out of the country. To help save his family, he headed home, but by the time he arrived his family was gone. Everyone — his mother, father, two brothers, three sisters and his maternal grandfather — had been deported to Auschwitz.
As a teenager, alone, Arnold survived an odyssey of flight, capture, forced labour, prisoner-of-war camp and miraculous escape across four countries. After the war he was selected for transfer from a displaced persons’ camp near Bergen-Belsen to Norway, where he received medical care, returned to school and eventually studied electronics. In 1947 he was recruited to fight in the Israeli War of Independence. In the Israeli Air Force he put his electronics training to use and — another miracle —discovered that two of his sisters, Elizabeth and Edith, had survived Auschwitz and were living in the nascent Jewish state. Despite their happy reunion, at the end of 1949 he returned to Norway.
In 1951 Arnold’s desire to see imagined worlds drew him across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. He was on his way to an arranged job in Windsor, Ont., but on a whim headed for Winnipeg — where he hoped to find the Wild West he had fallen in love with as a child through the movies. He arrived in Winnipeg in May 1951 penniless, alone and knowing four languages, none of them English.
He found a job and new friends, one of whom, Minnie Heft, encouraged him to pursue a university education. He hesitated, fearing that poor English and a lack of money would stand in his way, but he passed the entrance exam. With a $1,000 gift from Mrs. Heft, he was able to start a business to finance his studies: He fixed and re-sold car radios purchased from wrecking yards.
Arnold’s four years at the University of Manitoba were transformative. He had been a wild teenager and young adult, but the university experience stabilized him. Arnold graduated in 1960 with a bachelor of arts degree and a renewed belief in possibilities — as well as the love of Myra Thompson, whom he had met on her 18th birthday at a Hillel House debate he was moderating. Seven months later they were married. Their daughter Nona was born a year later, their daughter Gina 17 months after that.
Persuaded to go into business by Myra, Arnold in 1962 bought a two-person television sales and service shop from which they also sold car radios and the hot new thing — television sets. Within 12 years, the shop had been transformed into Advance Electronics, a multi-million-dollar business with 170 employees. It remains the largest independently owned retail and professional electronics stores in Western Canada.
One of the great joys of Arnold’s success was his ability to give back to the community. He and Myra have supported nearly 50 provincial, national and international organizations and institutions. They range from iconic arts groups, such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Manitoba Opera, to small, grassroots causes. Among the beneficiaries of his generosity was the premiere of I Believe, a Holocaust oratorio that helps people everywhere appreciate the importance of peace and justice. He was a devoted supporter of Israel and his many contributions to his alma mater include support for the University of Manitoba-University of Szeged Partnership, which funds exchanges between Hungarian and Manitoban scholars. Arnold’s inclusive style of philanthropy encouraged creativity, kindness and many of the other qualities that he treasured in his adopted home.
Over the years, his achievements have been recognized with numerous honours, most notably his induction into the Order of Manitoba in 2006 and the awarding of an honorary doctor of laws degree in 2018 by the University of Manitoba, which cited him as an exceptional global citizen and builder of his community.
A funeral was held on Monday, April 8, 2019, at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. Arnold’s dear friend Rabbi Alan Green, the former senior rabbi at Congregation Shaarey Zedek, returned from Iowa to deliver the eulogy. Burial was at Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
Pallbearers were Ashley Leibl, Jea Guertin, Norman Silver, Shane Silver, Michael Silver, Josh Vickar and Benji Ostrove. Honorary pallbearers were Peter Robertson, Robby Olynik, Steve Samuel and Oded Samuel.
Memorial donations may be made to the Jewish National Fund or the Benji Leibl Special Needs Fund through the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
Obituaries
HARRY KREEL April 9, 1927 – October 20, 2025
It is with profound sadness that the family of Harry Kreel announces his passing on October 20, 2025 at the age of 98 years. He was predeceased by his parents, Ben and Rebecca Kreel; his brothers, Isadore and Boris Kreel; and his beloved wife Myrna, to whom he was married for 68 years.
Left to mourn his passing are his daughter Eileen; his son Darrell (Nicole); and his grandson Benjamin Kreel.
Harry was born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan and moved to Winnipeg in his early 20s. He spent his career in education. He was the Director of Special Education for the Winnipeg School Division, Principal of R.B. Russell Vocational School and he also taught in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba.
Our parents loved to travel, and throughout their lives they travelled extensively throughout Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Upon his retirement, he and our mother were able to spend many wonderful winters in Palm Springs, as well as many visits to New York to visit family. The highlight for them was their trip to Israel, which was something they had always wanted to do, and they did.
Funeral Services were held on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, graveside at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. We would like to express our sincerest thanks to Rabbi Carney Rose for officiating and for delivering a most beautiful and heartfelt service.
To the pallbearers, you know who you are, and we would like to thank you for being there for our father. We would also, at this time, like to thank the wonderful staff of Weinberg I at the Simkin Centre. You treated our father with the utmost kindness, respect, dignity and compassion, and for that we will be forever grateful. And last but certainly not least, to Sheryl, Tia, and Victoria Levine, to Leslie Stokoloff and Joe Lacey, we will be forever grateful for all your love and support during this most difficult time.
Should anyone so desire, donations may be made in our father’s memory to the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre or CancerCare Manitoba.
Obituaries
ROSALYN GOLFMAN (née LINHART)
Rosalyn Golfman (née Linhart) passed away peacefully on November 9, 2025, after a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer.
Born and raised in Winnipeg to Jack and Clara Linhart, Roz and her brother Sam grew up with a deep appreciation for education, music, and community. Her father, along with her mother who was an accomplished singer and performer in Jewish plays and on radio, instilled in her a deep appreciation for both hard work and family traditions. The tragedy of the Holocaust, which claimed the majority of her mother’s immediate family, profoundly shaped Rosalyn’s outlook on life, nurturing in her a strong sense of identity, resilience, and commitment to her Jewish heritage.
Growing up in a home filled with music, the aromas of traditional cooking, and the warmth of family celebrations, Roz developed a lifelong connection to her roots. Her devotion to the Jewish community continued throughout her life as she volunteered and chaired various programs at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue and served as a member of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Education was one of Rosalyn’s greatest passions. She earned her B.A., M.Ed., a Ph.D. in Psychology, and a Masters in Family Therapy. As a clinical psychologist, Roz worked for 43 years dedicating her career to helping others. Rosalyn also served as President of the Manitoba Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and Chair of its Ethics Committee and taught at various times at the Universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg, and at Red River Community College.
Rosalyn’s greatest devotion was to her husband of more than 60 years, Charles (Chuck) Golfman. Together they traveled the globe and shared a lifetime of love and adventure. Their mutual curiosity led them to explore new places, lectures and forums, always seeking to expand their understanding of people and the world around them. Roz and Chuck raised three children – Jeff (Helen Huang), Lisa (Steve Kroft) and Jill (Mark Kantor). Her grandchildren – Angela, Nathan, Alex and Maya – were her greatest joy, and she cherished every moment spent with them, whether during family dinners, at her beloved Clearwater Bay, or on family trips. Rosalyn’s brother Sam (Judy) was a constant source of support, and the times Roz and Chuck spent with Sam and Judy in Phoenix and Aspen were always highlights for her. Family events with nieces, nephews, her numerous cousins and other relatives were also very special for Roz.
Rosalyn will be remembered for her compassion, intellect and unwavering devotion to family, her friends, and her Jewish faith. The values she instilled in her family will endure through them.
The family wishes to thank the many friends who supported Roz with gentleness, dignity and love. Thank you also to Dr. Marshall Pitz, Kim Paradoski and the caring and talented doctors and caregivers at CancerCare Manitoba and Grace Hospital who assisted Rosalyn and our family during this difficult journey.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rosalyn and Chuck Golfman Fund at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, or to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.
Obituaries
MARK BERNARD SCHACTER
May 12, 1946 – October 19, 2025
We are sad to announce that Mark Schacter died peacefully in Vancouver on October 19, 2025, at age 79.
He was born in Winnipeg on May 12, 1946, and moved to Vancouver at the age of 22 to seek his fortune, and lived and worked there for the rest of his life, in a number of careers. He was a raconteur, a free spirit, a sports fan, a close observer of current events, and a good friend to many, as far away as Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles. He attended the Canada-Russia hockey series in Moscow in 1972, flew on the Concorde to London, and went to Rio for Carnival on a number of occasions.
He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law Brent Schacter and Sora Ludwig, nieces Miriam Stoller (Michael), Isanne Schacter, and Jennifer Schacter (Neil Rockman), grandnieces Reina and Maddie Stoller, Beatrice Schacter, and Sally Rockman, and grandnephew Jacob Rockman.
He was laid to rest in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery near his parents on October 22, 2025. May his memory be a blessing.
Donations in his memory may be made to Yaletown House (www.yaletown.org) where he resided or to the charity of your choice.