Obituaries
GERSHON DAVID SUCHAROV September 6, 1942 – July 17, 2019
Gently, surrounded by his family, Gersh left this world in St. Boniface Hospital ICU due to systemic infection. His body and spirit fought hard but this time there was no reprieve.
He was born and raised partly in the fabled North End of the city of Winnipeg, and partly in West Kildonan and went to Talmuh Torah School for his first six years then transferring to West Kildonan Collegiate Institute for junior high until Graduation. He held a special fondness for his classmates from Talmuh Torah maintaining lifelong friendships with some. Gersh started work in the historic Exchange District after high school, first in the grain and then garment industry at Silpit before joining his father in the Insurance business at his firm Robins and Sucharov. That was followed by some years in retail management ending his career with Revenue Canada Taxation, called CRA today.
Gersh married the late Molly Vinsky in 1964. Although the union did not last, he was beyond grateful for the daughters it produced and was proud of their accomplishments. But he was lucky in love the second time round, determined to avoid the mistakes he made in the past. They met through his volunteer work. Margaret, his “bashert” (destiny) and he built a life together.
In retirement he looked forward to the days we would pick up our oldest granddaughters – Amber and Simone from school. After lunch on those days, he would stand at the kitchen counter measuring out gummi bears and wagon wheels for their after school snack. He missed those days after they started driving and no longer needed our pickups.
While not able to be physically active with the youngest granddaughters, he sat in his recliner giggling as the twins, Macey and Miley, gleefully covered his entire body with stickers or tissues. We found manageable activities that allowed him to engage with them.
Gersh was renowned for his sense of humour, always ready with a joke or a quip. He loved golf, and the Blue Bombers. How he would have loved to watch them win The Grey Cup last fall!! After Grey Cup he turned his attention to NFL and Superbowl. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Mafia and particularly Myer Lansky and the history of Las Vegas. He was always on the lookout for any movies or documentaries on the topic. He looked forward to phone calls from Max; discussing the latest people news with Bev. And lunches with the Sucharov cousins!
But what he looked forward to the most were visits with his family; catching up on family news with Brenlee;, community news with Al; Betty’s newest endeavors; and watching his grandchildren grow, whether 27, 26 or 7. He tried to be there when they needed him. At the end of his life he needed them.
Gersh was a grateful member of the Winnipeg Group and had 36 years of continuous sobriety in A.A. when he died. He valued the friendships he formed there, too many to mention. His last years he became active in JACS, particularly with Scott and Riva, and Rick.
He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Margaret, daughter, Brenlee, son-in-law, Al Benarroch, daughter Betty (who passed away six weeks after his death), and granddaughters, Amber, Simone, Macey and Miley; brother Max Sucharov, sister-in-law Rebecca Toolan, her children Michael and Sarah, niece Mira Sucharov (Stephen Gluck), Rory and Lev; the Sucharov cousins; and the Kay cousins. He was predeceased by his parents Myer (Moe) and Rose Sucharov (nee Bershadsky).
He was grateful for the attentive care he received at the HSC Pain Clinic from Dr. Howard Intrater and the nurses there – Sharon, Jackie, Judy, Donna and Marcie. Also he was indebted to his neurosurgeon, Dr. Neil Barrington at HSC.
The family would like to thank the caring staff at St. Boniface ICU, his long time cardiologist Dr. Phil Garber, Dr. Claudio Rigatto , Dr. Assad Junaid and especially for his exceptional care, his family physician, Dr. Grant Goldberg; additionally, Anat of Homecare who went above and beyond in her assistance to Gersh and the family.
Funeral service was held July 19, 2019 at Chesed Shel Emes. Interment followed at Shaarey Zedek Cemetary. Pallbearers were Al Benarroch, Joel Kay, Jeff Morris, Marvin Garfinkel, Scott McWilliam, and Rick Green
Honourary Pallbearers were Myrna Charach, Miriam Segal, Bernie Sucharov, Bev Goulding, Laurie Foster, Garth Darraugh, Mira Sucharov, Sadira Garfinkel, Ara Morris, Merle Garfinkel, and Jeffery Garfinkel.
The reason for this obituary’s appearing at this time is that the author was hospitalized for several months around the time of Gersh’s death.
Obituaries
SALLY ANN NARR
Sally Ann Narr, born September 5, 1935, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2025, at the age of 89.
Sally was born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, and attended William Whyte school and later St. John’s Tech. At 18 years old, Sally bravely made the decision to leave her family and friends in Winnipeg, and head to Los Angeles, California where she hoped to pursue a career in Hollywood. After arriving in LA, Sally got a job working at Farmer’s Insurance, until she landed her dream job at Capitol Records at Hollywood and Vine.
Sally absolutely loved her job at Capitol Records and often found herself partying with some of the most famous celebrities.
At a New Year’s Eve party in 1958, Sally met the love of her life, Frank, and they were married the following year on December 12, 1959. Sally and Frank were married for 65 years and were overjoyed when they welcomed their daughter, Heather on October 1, 1965. It was in 1969, some years after the Watts Riot in LA that Sally and Frank made the decision to leave LA and return to Winnipeg to raise their daughter. Once back in Winnipeg, Sally and Frank resided in the West Kildonan area for 43 years until they bought a condo and moved to the south end of the city to be close to their daughter and grandchildren.
Sally lived a full and rich life. Some of her fondest memories were going on a Caribbean cruise for hers and Frank’s 50th wedding anniversary with her family, going to Hawaii for her 80th birthday, and attending her granddaughter’s wedding in 2019. Beyond all of this, Sally’s greatest joy in life was when her two grandchildren were born. She was overjoyed to become a grandmother and said it was the best job in the world.
It was shortly after the arrival of her first great-granddaughter in 2022 that Sally became a resident of the Simkin Centre, a place she would call home for almost three years until her passing. The staff treated her with the utmost care and respect and helped guide her family through her battle with Alzheimers and in the last few months of her life, cancer.
Sally’s quality of life would not have been what it was if it was not for her devoted caregiver, Oxana. From 2020 to 2025, Oxana provided wonderful care for Sally through her compassion and dedication and love for both Sally and Frank. There are not enough ways to thank Oxana for everything she did for Sally and her entire family over their five years together.
Sally was predeceased by her parents, Ann and Nicholas Dutkevich and is survived by her husband, Frank Narr, her daughter Heather Cantor (Ed), granddaughter, Lexi Cantor (Dan Robillard), her grandson Ryan Cantor, great-granddaughters, Parker and Blake and her brother Joey Dutkevich (Karen).
The family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer Association or the Simkin Centre in honour of Sally.
Obituaries
DR. ROBERT CORNE
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Robert Corne on February 5, 2025.
Dr. Corne was married to Irene (née Genser), for 66 years; father of Lesley Corne Wolman, (spouse-Jeff Wolman), Janet Corne, (spouse-Michael Katz), Maureen Slama, (spouse-Avi Slama), and Eric Corne, (spouse-Aimee Corne).
Grandfather of Ariel Slama, Yale Wolman (spouse-Ashlie Sapiro), Serena Wolman, Liav Slama, Neeve Slama, Ira Corne and Lilly Corne.
Born in 1936 in Winnipeg, Robert was the only child Hy and Yhetta Corne. He attended both River Heights Elementary School and Kelvin High School. He entered University of Manitoba Medical School at the age of 18, winning the Ibsen scholarship. He married Irene Genser in 1958.
In 1960, Robert, Irene, and daughter Lesley, moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where Robert was a Fellow in Internal Medicine (1960-63) and a Fellow in Cardiology (1963-64) at the Mayo Clinic. Robert’s research interest was in cardiac pathology and in 1964 he received a Master’s in Science from the University of Minnesota. In1964 the young family, now including daughters, Janet and Maureen, moved to San Francisco where Robert spent a year at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California San Francisco. Robert became a fellow of Royal College of Physicians of Canada, a Diplomat of American Board of Internal Medicine, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Cardiology.
The family returned to Winnipeg in 1965 and Robert joined his uncle, Dr. Norman Corne and Dr. Mossy Lehmann in private practice for three years. In 1968, he joined the Faculty of Medicine in the department of Cardiology at University of Manitoba. For several years he worked with Dr. Frank Matthewson in a natural history study of cardiac disease in Canadian Air Force pilots whom they followed for over 30 years. Robert also pursued a special interest in heart disease in women.
In 1977 Robert was appointed as The Lady Davis Professor of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the family, now including son, Eric, moved to Israel for the year. where Robert opened the department of Nuclear Cardiology at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He was privileged to take part in the first heart scan in Israel and participated in a cardiac evaluation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
The Corne family returned to Winnipeg in 1978, and Robert became the co-Director of Nuclear Cardiology and Director of Cardiac Ambulatory Care at Health Sciences Center. Teaching was an exciting and rewarding part of his academic life, and he became a full Professor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. His research has been published in both the American Heart Journal and The American Journal of Cardiology.
Robert’s volunteer commitments included a seat on the Board of the Winnipeg Chapter of Hebrew University and was instrumental in launching the Academic Affairs Initiative. He was the Governor of the Prairie Provinces of American College of Cardiology, a councilor of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and a Member of the Council on Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association.
Despite his overwhelmingly numerous academic and professional achievements, he would say that his greatest accomplishment was his family: his four children and their spouses, eight grandchildren and sixty-six-year marriage to his beloved wife, Irene. He was a loving and caring husband, an exceptionally devoted father and an interested and involved grandfather who shared a unique relationship with each of his children and grandchildren. He was a loyal friend to many and a trusted colleague to all who worked alongside him.
Obituaries
EARL (ARIE) PERLMUTTER
We are saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend and cousin Arie Perlmutter at the age of 77. Arie died peacefully after a brief but difficult struggle with cancer on April 12, 2025.
He was predeceased by his parents, Hymie and Thelma and by his beloved sister Sheila.
Arie developed and maintained many close friends throughout his life. He attended St. John’s High in the 60s and kept in touch with many of his classmates. He began his working life as a delivery driver for City Bread. This was followed by a career of over 20 years at Advance Electronics, where he was a well-respected and expert sales associate. He hung out at North End Sals, for virtually his entire life, discussing (arguing? kibitzing?) with many people too numerous to name, the issues of the day but especially about sports, and most especially about baseball.
In his retired life, he was a member of Larters Golf Club, golfing with much enthusiasm and passion, if not prowess. Arie donated to and volunteered at the Winnipeg Humane Society for many years.
His family and friends would like to thank the staff at the St. Boniface Hospital whose compassionate and caring attention to Arie in his final days was truly a great comfort to him.
In keeping with Arie’s wishes, cremation has taken place and no funeral will be held.
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