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Obituaries

ARNOLD AUBREY PORTIGAL

It is with great sadness the Portigal Family announces the passing, on January 4, 2015, of Arnold Aubrey Portigal, 86 years old.

 

Arnold was born on March 9, 1928 in Winnipeg, Canada, the only child of Samuel and Genevieve Portigal. He was married for 57 years to his wife Elodee, whom he met in 1958 on a blind date in Los Angeles, California and married three months later. They had two children, Blair Portigal and Leslie Portigal Folz. Leslie sadly passed several years ago following her battle with ovarian cancer.
Arnold was a self-educated man, a man of purpose, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, humanitarian, truly a Renaissance man. In 1963 he sold his commercial finance organization to Walter E Heller International and became President of Walter E Heller Canada, Ltd. During the following five years he developed Heller’s Consumer Finance Facilities throughout Canada. He then left the Heller Organization to again establish his own commercial real estate private equity firm.
Arnold was a passionate advocate of the Jewish community in both Winnipeg and Phoenix and for the State of Israel. He was Deputy Director of the United Israel Appeal, sitting on boards in both Israel and and Canada. He initiated and chaired Project Canada whose sole purpose was to provide immigrant housing to answer the acute need of Russian Jews fleeing to Israel. In 1974 he was awarded by the United Israel Appeal and State of Israel Bonds, receiving the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanity Award. He travelled extensively to Israel during the 1960’s and 1970’s to meet with the likes of Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and David Ben-Gurion.
In both Canada and The United States, Arnold was deeply involved in community activities which included many political appointments. In Winnipeg he was appointed to the Board of Victoria General Hospital and became Chairman of the Board. During his eight year tenure he completed ground breaking improvements at the hospital. Arnold was then appointed by the Premier of Manitoba and MInister of Health to assume the Post of Chairman of the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation as well as the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology. During his long tenure he negotiated clinical trials of drugs developed by the institute with major US pharmaceutical companies.
When Arnold moved full time to Phoenix, Arizona, he was appointed National Treasurer of the American Cancer Foundation until early 2002 when he decided to step down after determining he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
We are reminded of Dylan Thomas’s words, “Do not go gently into that good night, rage, rage, against the dying of light…” Arnold, like these words, carried with him the quality of spirit and soul that took him fighting until the very end. He will be greatly missed. HIs spirit will forever remain with us.
He is survived by his wife Elodee, son Blair and grandchildren Sydney and Alexa Portigal and Joshua Folz.

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Obituaries

Lorraine Norma Reiner (nee Reich)

It is with deep sorrow that the family of Lorraine Reiner announces the passing of our mother and baba after a difficult battle with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her children, Marlaina (Hillel) and Susan (Wil), her grandchildren, Sarah (Justin), Jordana (Blake), and Micah, and her great grandson, Elias. She was predeceased by her parents Rose and Sam, her husband Barry, her brother Max, her son Sam, and her granddaughters June and Beth.
Lorraine, at her core, was a loving caregiver. Lor-raine‘s father died when she was only eight years old. She grew up helping her mother with household and family chores after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She cared for her mother-in-law, husband, and cousin during their battles with ill-nesses and final stages of life.
We remember Lorraine as a woman whose love for her family knew no limits. She adored her children and grandchildren and formed special bonds with each of them. Her family was everything to her, and she meant the world to her family. She stepped into the role of Baba Lorraine with open arms and an enormous heart; there was nothing she wouldn’t do for her children and grandchildren. Lorraine was surrounded by her family during her final stage of life.
Cooking was an important part of Lorraine’s identi-ty. She was most famous for her chicken soup and S-cookies and she loved to spread joy and comfort through sharing her cooking with others. She always had a freezer stocked with homemade meals and anytime a family member felt unwell, she was at the ready with a batch of “Jewish penicillin”.
Lorraine had a diverse and eclectic resume that in-cluded office work for all three Jewish Newspapers, including The Jewish Post, The Western Jewish News, and The Yiddeshe Vort. Later she worked as office staff at Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate and As-troid Management. Her final job was an 11-year tenure as a clerk for the City of Winnipeg’s Assess-ment Department.
Lorraine loved sharing stories with everyone and had a special way of getting lost in a story. Any-one who had the pleasure of listening to one of Lor-raine’s stories knows how her mood instantly lit up when she had the opportunity to share. Her stories, alongside her recipes, will live on through her loved ones.
The funeral was held at the Chesed Shel Emes on Tuesday March 26, followed by a burial service at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. Pallbearers were Blake Nichols, Justin Odwak, Cal & Asher Reich, Brian Rosenberg, Wil Scheiring, Sean Smith, and Micah Sommer. Honorary pallbearers were Mickey Rosenberg & Alan Schweid.
The family wishes to thank the numerous health-care staff who participated in Lorraine’s care over the past couple of months, especially the wonderful staff at the Health Sciences Centre H3 surgical unit, Drs. Bubis, Goldenberg, Lipschitz, Shell, and Visser.

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Obituaries

EDWARD PERRY REISS April 30, 1935 – February 20, 2024

Ed was born in Poland in 1935 and fled to Canada in 1939 with his parents Raizel and Ira and older brothers Harry and Sam. The family settled in Edenbridge, SK where they farmed and where sister Ida was born.
In high school, the family moved to Winnipeg where Ed attended St. John’s before attending the University of Manitoba and finishing at the University of Western Ontario.
In 1968, Ed met his wife Barbara playing badminton at the YMHA. They were married three months later and left for New York where Ed trained as a stockbroker on Wall Street. Returning to Winnipeg, Ed worked as a broker for years before joining Barbara in what became the family business, Desserts Plus. They worked together for close to 40 years.
In 1971 daughter Lisa was born followed by Pam in 1974. Ed loved spending time with his family at their cottage near Kenora or on many road trips around North America and trips around the world. We were blessed and fortunate to be able to enjoy our time together.
Ed is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara; daughter Pam and his buddy Farfel, as well as his brother Sam, sister Ida Alpern and in-laws, Len and Lynne Shapiro, Honey Kowall, and nephews and nieces.
Ed was predeceased by his dear daughter Lisa, parents, Raizel and Ira, in-laws, Irene and Joe Shapiro, brother Harry, sisters-in-law, Vicky and Bayla, brothers-in-law, Saul Alpern and David Shapiro.
The family thanks the wonderful staff at the Simkin Centre who were very supportive and caring during his time there. And our deep thanks to Cantor Tracy Kasner for performing the burial ceremony with kindness and sensitivity.
Ed was a man of integrity, intelligence, honesty, wit, and above all else, he loved his girls.

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Obituaries

PHILIP KAHANOVITCH

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Philip Kahanovitch in Winnipeg, MB on Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Philip will be remembered by his dear son Joshua; brother David; niece and nephews, Deborah, Aaron and Jonathan. Philip was predeceased by his loving wife Susan, parents, Moses and Esther, brother Gerry, and sister-in-law Risa.
Philip was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Philip loved travelling on cruises and throughout both North America and Europe. Philip will be remembered for his career as a teacher in both Altona, Neepawa, and Winnipeg, and for his long standing practice as a professional accountant. Philip adored dogs, particularly terriers, and owned several furry companions over the years, including his beloved Hamish.
Following a service, Philip was interred at Rosh Pina Cemetery. If loved ones desire, a memorial donation can be made to a charity of their choice.

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