Obituaries
HARRY REISS
On Monday, July 3, 2023, at home, after a short illness, Harry Reiss passed away at the age of 93. He was the beloved husband of 55 years to Vicky Reiss (Shumsky), who predeceased
him, as did his parents, Ira and Raizel Reiss. He is survived by his children, Jeffrey, wife Marlis,
grandchildren Sheena, Anita, and Leanna; Alan; and Ken, wife Sonya, grandchildren
Chloe, Noah, and Charlie; younger siblings, Sam Reiss, Edward Reiss, and Ida Alpern; and his partner Honey Kowall.
Harry was born in Dunajow, Poland and escaped at age nine with his immediate family due to the growing threat of war and the Holocaust. They left Poland on the “Alaunia” of the Cunard White Star Line, eventually arriving in Halifax on April 16, 1939, then arriving by train to Winnipeg on April 19th, proceeding to Brooksby, Saskatchewan, before eventually settling on a farmstead in Edenbridge, SK, where Harry went to school and helped out on the farm. At age seventeen, due to financial reasons, Harry needed to leave school to find work and arrived in Winnipeg, working 70-hour weeks in a fur coat factory. In 1951, he went to New York City where he stayed with relatives to attend a 6-month course in Fur Designing & Fur Cutting at the Sol Vogel School of Designing. Upon his return to Winnipeg, Harry started his own business in the basement of his parents’ house (who had moved to Wpg. with his siblings earlier that year), sewing patterns and selling fur coats to department stores, in addition to bringing his father, uncle Joe, and brother Sam into the venture. Later, the business expanded first to James St. and later to the Bedford Building on McDermot & King, where it remained thereafter and known as Reiss Furs, engaged in both wholesale and retail sales. Over the years, Harry and his partner Sam, developed an extremely successful enterprise, becoming the largest furrier business in Western Canada, renowned for their high-end garments, with international celebrities and royalty amoungst their clientele. Indeed, they were the last independent furrier in Winnipeg, as eventually the marketplace was changing with less demand for fur coats. Ever the astute businessman, Harry had evolved the business into additionally involving retail sales of high-quality non-fur winter wear, as well as men’s and women’s fashion for some time. In the latter half of his career, Harry successfully expanded into the area of property management, acquiring a number of downtown Winnipeg buildings and parking lots. He continued with property management after the closing of his retail operations in 2008 and “semi-retiring” at nearly eighty years of age.
Harry started to date Vicky in 1956, with them marrying the following year. They enjoyed many happy years together, socializing with family and friends, and in later years looking forward to their winter vacations in Florida. Tragically, Vicky passed away after a brief illness in 2012, at the age of only 73. Fortunately for Harry, over the passage of years he developed a close relationship with Honey Kowall, leading to the two of them ultimately living together, and with him being warmly accepted into the Kowall family.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude for the compassionate care given to Harry by the healthcare-aides who assisted him in his later days, as well as the longstanding service of Judy Hansen.
Funeral services, officiated by Rabbi Kliel Rose, were held at the Rosh Pina Memorial Park on Wednesday, July 5, 2023.
Obituaries
MARILYN ABOSH
It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Marilyn, on April 29. Marilyn was predeceased by her parents Dave & Eva.
Left to cherish her memory are her younger brothers Allan (Leslie) and Harold (Elizabeth), niece Dory (David) her children Coleman & Ryan; nephew Paul and his children Dovid and Eden. She also leaves to mourn many cousins and extended family and friends.
Marilyn was born in Winnipeg, and grew up in the North End. Marilyn shared a home full of love and Jewish Traditions. She was a warm, kind & gentle person with a strong will & spirit that touched the lives of those who knew her. She was challenged with cerebral palsy at birth which stole her dream of becoming a nurse, however she was able to live independently on her own.
Marilyn was willing to try many things in life and her greatest joy was when she discovered the benefit of tai chi and through her 15 years of practice she became an “assistant instructor for beginners”. We were all so proud when Marilyn passed the St. John’s Ambulance First Aid Emergency Course and in 2006 was awarded the “MLA Red River Award” for the volunteer work performed at the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.
Since 2011, Marilyn found joy in helping the staff at the Saul & Claribel Simkin Center where she had resided and emerged as the “Resident Artist”. A special thanks to the staff at Weinberg 3 at the Simkin Centre who showed their kindness & compassion to Marilyn over the years.
A graveside service was held May 2, at the Hebrew Sick Benefit Cemetery.
We love & miss you Marilyn.
Obituaries
FAYGEE HARRIET HECHT (née YUFFE)
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Faygee Hecht on April 15, 2024. Faygee was born on September 3, 1954 to parents, Louis and Elsie Yuffe. Besides her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Phil, and sister-in- law, Maddy. Left to mourn her passing are: partner, Rob Irvine; siblings, Howard Yuffe, Stephen (Randie) Yuffe, Corky (Stephen) Rosenfield, Debbie (Abe) Braverman; her nieces and nephews, Lee, Rebekah, Sharla, Lorne, Erin, Lana; the “greats”, Cayla, Hannah and Jake, Charley and Ben, Saul and Louis, Adam; Rob’s family, Rupert and Nicole (Michael, Zizza, Trevor), Victoria; extended family and friends. Whatever job or project Faygee took on, it was done 100%. Faygee was very involved at the Etz Chayim Synagogue. She was truly a “minyannaire extraordinaire”. Faygee was always worrying about others before herself. This one of a kind essence was captured in eulogies by Rabbi Rose, Rebekah and Erin and her friends, AnnaGail and Faina. Thank you. Thank you to the compassionate and caring staff of the Grace Hospital ICU. Faygee was laid to rest on April 17th at the Hebrew Sick Cemetery. Thank you to pallbearers: Sean, Lee, Gavin, Jared, Royle, Benji, Harlan and Morgan. Donations in memory of Faygee can be made to the charity of your choice.
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.
