Obituaries
GARY BRIAN JACOB
(February 3, 1956 – June 20, 2018)
Gary Brian Jacob was born in Winnipeg, Canada, the third child, and first son of his parents, Joy Shibou and Ted Jacob.
His birth brought great joy to the extended family, as he was the first male in his generation capable of carrying on the Jacob name.
Gary’s early formative years were spent in Winnipeg, where he attended and graduated from Ravenscourt. Gary excelled in almost any physical activity he performed. He smiled wryly whenever he recounted the story of being forced to play goalie in a hockey game and admitted freely that he shut his eyes every time the puck approached. During at least one break in his studies, Gary apprenticed as an electrician in Los Angeles, an experience that gave him the confidence and the knowledge to take on almost any do-it-yourself project, which during his life time included building a telescope, a plane, a house, all sorts of machines, and countless renovations. Gary graduated from the University of Manitoba, became a chartered accountant, and took a job with Hobart Industries in Belgium in the early 80s.
Gary (affectionately known as “Gersh” by his immediate family) was as independent as he was adventurous and he had a way of popping in and out of our lives, but seldom forgot a birthday. When he tired of accounting and travelling throughout Europe, he returned to Canada and eventually settled down again in Winnipeg to learn the furrier/tanning business from his cousin Marty Cohn. Gary was not an employee, he was a sole proprietor, and in the early 90s he branched out first to set up a tannery in Greenville, South Carolina, then moved on to Nova Scotia, and eventually ended up in Anchorage, Alaska where he opened up Alpha Fur Dressers (because “A” being the first letter in the alphabet meant that Alpha Fur would likely be listed as the first business in a phone directory).
Gary loved the outdoors, he loved his business, he loved all physical activities, he loved his friends, he loved good food, and he loved life. He skied, swam, fished, jogged, went boating, loved camping, biked, hiked and did yoga. The long cold winter nights led Gary to take up the piano and painting. He became one of the “frozen chosen”, actively participating in many Chabad activities and mitzvot, including the purchase of a torah for the community in memory of his father.
About ten years ago, he met Melanie Duchin at a Passover seder and eventually they were married. Melanie and Gary were able to spend several wonderful years together traveling to Hawaii, Vietnam, Indonesia, Argentina, Chile and Spain. After receiving the unimaginable and grim diagnosis of a glioblastoma two years ago, Gary devoted much of his life to putting his affairs in order for Melanie. He sold his business, renovated and rented out the house, and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the world class neuro-oncology center that treated him at UCLA.
He was content to hike when he could, and remained the same quiet, unassuming, understated man that he always was. He was a private person, who held his emotions close to his heart. He was courteous and respectful. He retained his intellectual curiosity and dry wit to the bitter end. He said his biggest problem was that like all other recently retired men, he had far too much time on his hands, and he didn’t know how to fill the hours of his days. He was a good listener, not a big talker, and he chose his words with great care and deliberation. One of the last things he said to us was “I want to thank my family for being there for me during this difficult time”.
Special thanks go out to the extraordinary medical team headed by Dr. Tim Cloughesy at UCLA, and to Rabbi Zushi Cunin (Chabad Pacific Palisades), Rabbi Yosef Greenberg (Chabad Anchorage), and Rabbi Mendel Lipskier (Chabad Sherman Oaks) for uplifting all of our hearts with their spiritual guidance and wisdom in Gary’s final weeks and hours. We also want to acknowledge the beautiful memorial that Yhetta Gold hosted for Gary in her home in Winnipeg and the videos that she sent us from that event and thank all the friends and relatives for their notes and thoughts about Gary.
Gary is survived by his wife Melanie; his mother Joy Sures; his step mother Rita Shapera Jacob (who embraced Gary as one of her own); his brothers and sisters (and their spouses) including Lisa Gabay, Jennifer (Reinhard) Volz, Sari (Simon) Dickenson, Ron Sures, Elyanne Sures, Jay Sures, Nolan (Lori) Shapera, Caryn (Paul) Martin and Blair (Lois) Shapera; Melanie’s parents Richard and Irma Duchin; Melanie’s brother Michael and his partner John Perfumo; Gary’s aunt Carla Shibou and aunt and uncle Simmie and Keith Shibou; numerous nieces and nephews, countless cousins, and friends galore.
Gersh was laid to rest on a quiet hillside in the garden of eden section of Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills, California, surrounded by mountains reminiscent of the majestic Alaskan peaks through which he once roamed.
Obituaries
MORLEY SLONIM, DDS March 30, 1931 – July 7, 2024
Peacefully on July 7, 2024, at the age of 93.
He will be forever missed by his wife of almost 66 years, Lil. Loving father and father-in-law to Shari (Jeff Shulman) and Marni (Gavin Rich). Adored Zaida Moe to his grandchildren, Dylan, Cory, Samantha (Jake), Seth, Justin (Katie), Jordan, Jamie, Jadon, Asher, and Lily. Devoted uncle, great-uncle, great-great-uncle and great-great-great uncle to his nieces and nephews.
Predeceased by his parents, Henry and Anne, and brothers, Sidney and Aubrey.
Born in Winnipeg’s North End in 1931, Morley attended Peretz School, Machray and St. John’s Tech. After attending the University of Manitoba for his undergraduate degree, he spent four years in Toronto, graduating from the Faculty of Dentistry in 1958. He practiced for many years in Fort Garry and retired in 1992. He was able to enjoy more than 30 years of retirement, working out religiously and spending invaluable time with friends and family.
A man of many interests, he prided himself on being able to fix everything he could, cared for his yard and garden, had a keen interest in sports and was a loyal fan of the Winnipeg Jets for many years. He also followed politics and world events, was fascinated by the construction of buildings and loved music.
He was known for his quick wit and sense of humour and tried not to miss an opportunity to make a joke or pun or pull a prank.
The funeral was held at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery on July 10, 2024. The family wishes to thank the pallbearers, Abe Borzykowski, Justin Gertenstein, Dylan Huber, Jordan Gertenstein, Jeff Shulman and Gavin Rich as well as the honorary pallbearers, Bryan Borzykowski, David Borzykowski and Josh Chisick.
The family would also like to thank Dr. Hayward and Dr. Vidal for their dedicated care over the years.
Donations can be made to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, Morley and Lil Slonim Fund at
www.jewishfoundation.org or 204-477-7520
Obituaries
SHIRLEY MORRY
Shirley Morry passed away in Winnipeg on August 20, 2024.
Predeceased by her parents, Sally and Sam Slotnikov and survived by Julius Morry, her beloved husband of 67 years, her loving children, Howard (Hope), Jeff (Sarah), Marla (Ibrahim) and Karyn (Mark), her grandchildren, Josh (Sam), Samantha (Steve), Ben, Matthew and Joel, her sister Helen and nephew Gary. She will be missed by her many cousins and friends.
Shirley grew up in in a proud Jewish home in the fabled North End of Winnipeg. She had a quiet strength, dignity and purpose that made her a loyal friend. Her main purpose in life, as she saw it, was to raise her family. Dad once said to her “the kids are yours until they’re 10”, but 10 years turned into a lifetime, because Shirley never stopped being a mom. She was especially close to her girls, whom she spoke to every day, regardless of where they were. Those calls gave Marla and Karyn a lifetime of love and wisdom. Mom was their champion, their cheerleader, their confidante, with an innate ability to make them feel everything was going to work out. She showed us the true meaning of humility, they said. Mom also loved her boys. She knew the road to Jeff’s heart was through his stomach and made him all his favourites when he visited once a week, more for love and wisdom than for the peanut butter cookies. Jeff defined that wisdom as acceptance, embracing imperfections with an open heart. She instilled in him the value of grace under pressure, he said, a true role model for how to treat others. Early on, Mom entrusted Howard, often with more responsibility than he thought he could handle, which allowed him to aim high and risk failure, a subtle but essential life lesson. The family holds fond memories of summers spent at Falcon Lake and Winnipeg Beach. It is only looking back that we realize our endless summers were made possible by Mom looking after endless lunches and laundry. Howard watched as Mom embraced his wife Hope and his own kids, Josh and Samantha, who developed a close and loving relationship with their grandmother. As Shirley’s only granddaughter, Samantha loved “Bobby” to talk, as she put it. At the end of the day, it was more girl-talk than anything. Shirley loved Jeff’s wife, Sarah, and was so proud of their kids, her grandkids, Ben, Matthew and Joel, who had sleepovers when they were young and maintained a close relationship with Bobby all her life. Shirley was also close to Karyn’s partner, Mark, who was a big support to Mom during her health challenge, as well as to Karyn, who never left Mom’s side during that difficult time.
Shirley was raised by a force of nature, her mother, Sally. Bobby Sally, as we called her, lived on in Mom, as did her dad, Sam Slotnikov, a moral superhero who volunteered to serve in the Second World War at age 32. Shirley was a role model for her sister, Helen, who called Shirley her best friend. Her greatest adventure started when she met her bashert, Julius Morry, at a YMHA dance in 1954. Dad was full of big ideas and knew what he wanted from life, and that included a life partner who would share his dreams. He and his friends were finding it hard meeting Jewish girls, so Dad went to the head of the YMHA and proposed a monthly dance, where he would look after everything. Within a couple of months, the YMHA Dance was attracting 250 to 300 kids a month. A lot of marriages came out of those dances, including his own. He went to one fateful dance with his date, who introduced him to her best friend, Shirley Slotnikov. He remembers exactly what she was wearing, the colour of her skirt and hair. When he found out her Yiddish name was Tsipie, he decided he would never call her anything else. A couple of weeks later, he asked Tsipie to go steady, she said no, she was too young, so he asked her out every week, week after week, and she always said yes. Afraid to ask for her hand in marriage, one day he said, “when we’re married…”, and when Tsipie didn’t protest, he bought her a ring and booked the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. In the end, Mom wanted nothing more than to attend her grandson Josh’s wedding to his bashert, Sam Holloway. She lived to see the wedding ceremony on a live video feed from New York City, where the Rabbi gave her a shout out from the Bima. Mom was so proud of her loving family that day.
Mom, Bobby, Shirley, Tsipie, you are forever in our hearts. You live on in Dad, in us, in our kids, and soon in theirs. We will get through this together, as you would have wanted. As a family. As your family. We are grateful to Rabbi Matthew Leibl, who led a graveside service at Shaarey Zedek Cemetery followed by a meal of consolation at the Asper Jewish community Campus and a shiva at Howard and Hope’s home. The pallbearers were Shirley’s beloved grandchildren and her nephew, Gary. Donations may be made to The Shirley and Julius Morry Leave More Than Memories Endowment at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba or to the charity of your choice.
Obituaries
JANICE WEGE (nee GOLDBERG)
With immense sadness, we announce the passing of Janice Wege on August 20, 2024.
Janice was predeceased by her parents Gwen and Joe Goldberg. Her legacy features, but will refuse to be limited to, a lifetime of love, wonderful memories and selfless accomplishments. It will be carried forward by all those who had the fortune of being close to her. Her husband: Doug Wege; children and grandchildren: Jeff Wege, Morgan Wege and Marjie McMullin (Riley, Mia, Nathan, Gracelyn, and Chloe); sisters and their families: Maxine and Alex Segall, Susan and Steven Rosenberg, and Elaine and Ed Clairmont. She also leaves behind many who cared deeply for her: nieces, nephews, cousins and life-long friends.
Janice grew up on Aikins Street in Winnipeg, attending Peretz School and later St. Johns High School, Red River College and many continuing education and professional development programs. She raised her family with a loving hand, she was a devoted caregiver, and her children always came first. Janice was a gentle parent long before gentle parenting was a known term.
Janice devoted her professional life to children as well through her work as a Child Development Worker in the Day Hospital program at Mount Carmel Clinic, and later as an Educational Assistant at Lansdowne School. She was truly gifted with both the ability to find joy in even the smallest of a child’s accomplishments, and the patience to nurture those accomplishments into impactful growth. Working with what some would consider to be a “countless” number of children over her career, “Mme. Jan” (as she came to be known at Lansdowne) remembered each one fondly.
It’s only fitting that Janice came to enjoy a large family of her own with five grandchildren. Her grandchildren will always cherish memories of visits and sleepovers with Baba and their excursions to the Zoo, museums, shopping and “Ash’s Park”. She had a special relationship with each of them individually and unique traditions that they will carry with them forever.
A graveside service was held at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery on Friday August 23. If family and friends wish to honour Janice’s memory, a donation to a charity of your choice would be greatly appreciated.
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