Obituaries
IRWINE (IKE) PERMUT
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Irwine (Ike) Permut on November 07, 2017 at the Concordia Hospital surrounded by his family and his special friend Anne Dudeck.
Ike’s funeral took place at the Etz Chayim Synagogue with interment at the Bnay Abraham Cemetery. Pall bearers were Ari Kapitany, Jeff Gilbert, Merrill Shulman, Mark Cohen, Mark Shuster, and Avery Spigelman.
Ike was born in 1925, the middle of three children to Hershel (Harry) and Sarah Permut. He was predeceased in 2009 by the love his of life for over 68 years – Ruth. He was also predeceased by his older brother Hymie and younger sister Bessie.
Left to cherish and honour Ike’s memory are his children Marsha, Harriet, and Arnold, and Arnold’s wife Susan. He is also survived by grandchildren Ari Kapitany, Jessy Kapitany and her husband Paul Gribbon, and Janie Gilbert and her husband Jeff. He is also survived by great grandchildren Hope and Andrew Gribbon, and Zoe and Sam Gilbert.
Ike grew up in Winnipeg’s North End where he not only received a formal education in the school system, but also received an education in “the school of hard knocks”.
At an early age he developed an interest in and significant skills related to things mechanical in nature particularly cars and trucks. This formed the basis for his subsequent career paths. During World War II he served in the Canadian Army as a staff sergeant both fixing trucks and teaching young soldiers how to properly drive trucks. In spite of his vision problems he also taught marksmanship. Clearly he needed to be and was a man of infinite patience.
Following the war years Ike worked as master mechanic at Stern Trucks, Winnipeg Electric which became Winnipeg Transit in later years, and Winnipeg Motors. He ultimately worked for many years in management positions at Princess Auto and at Mandak Metal Processors in Selkirk where his expertise and hard work helped build both into very successful companies.
Perhaps his greatest and respected contributions during his life were in the form of “paying it back” to the community of Winnipeg through many volunteer positions. He chaired the building committees for both the Bnay Abraham Synagogue and the associated housing co-op. He was also President of the Bnay Abraham Synagogue for two terms.
For many years Ike was a passionate volunteer member of the board of directors and President of the Jewish community funeral home the Chesed Shel Emes. He devoted many hours of his time in the support and betterment of this institution so important to the Jewish community in Winnipeg. He also served on the board of directors of the Gwen Secter Active Living Centre.
Following Ruth’s passing at the Misericordia Place Nursing Home, he served as a volunteer on the Ethics Committee for that nursing home. He also volunteered as a member of the public on the Discipline Committee of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba.
At his core, Ike was a devoted family man. In recent years it was a joy to see the love he gave and received in return from his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He went to great lengths to spend time with them including taking the bus on the coldest days of winter to visit.
For those wishing to make donations in Ike’s memory, donations may be sent to:
The Bessie Permut Ruder Hospice and Palliative Care Fund (at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba) or
The Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Caners and the staff at the Concordia Hospital for their care and compassion during his final days.
Finally, if Ike were to have the last word which he frequently did, he might have left two important messages being: “the important things in life aren’t things” and “you can’t beat fun”!!
Obituaries
Naomi Lander Rosenthal February 14, 1940 – February 12, 2025
Naomi Lander Rosenthal was born in Winnipeg and passed away two days shy of her 85th birthday. She was the daughter of Drs. Jacob Joseph (Jack) Lander, a respected and beloved family practitioner in Winnipeg, and Clara (Shnay) Lander, a literary scholar and past President of the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Board of Governors.
Naomi was a classically trained pianist and performed both formally and informally in many venues. She was always asked to play at any party where there was a piano. Her favorite classical piece was Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, which readers can listen to and enjoy here. Naomi was heavily influenced by the version played by the pianist Glenn Gould, which approximates how Naomi approached it. Naomi had a great appreciation for complexity in musical style and composition. Her piano repertoire extended from Bach and Brahms to Elton John and Billy Joel.
Naomi lived in Toronto from 1968-1988 and then moved back to Winnipeg in 1989 to help care for her father when he became ill. She worked in senior executive assistant roles from the 1970s through the early 1990s in insurance, government and the non-profit sectors before retiring at age 65. Her work ethic, perfectionism and sense of mission throughout her career made Naomi a beloved team member, who also fostered life-long friendships with her supervisors and even their families.
In addition to music, Naomi had many interests, including gourmet cooking, film, science fiction and fantasy, and politics. Naomi could engage anyone in any number of subjects and was particularly interested in health and medicine. Naomi will now go on to teach medical students through the University of Manitoba’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ body donation program.
Naomi is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Ahava Rosenthal and Michael Shore, of Boston, MA; M. Sara Rosenthal and Kenneth Ain of Lexington, Kentucky; her grandchildren, Kayla Shore and Jacob Shore; her step-grandchildren, Maxwell Ain and Jacob Ain; her sisters, Myra Lander of San Mateo, California, and Judith Lander of Toronto; nephews Kalan Vuksanovich and Stephen Israels and many extended family members from the Lander families, Shnay families, and Rothberg families.
The family wishes to thank Richard (Dick) and Joanne Rothberg; Naomi’s wonderful caregivers at The Key, homecare assistance in Winnipeg, including Brian Boxall and Althea King; the Simkin Centre; and Elena Episcope for helping to make Naomi’s final years so much more comfortable.
A remembrance of Naomi will be held on Thursday evening, February 20th at 7 pm at 202 Lamont Blvd in Winnipeg. Donations in Naomi’s memory may be made to CancerCareManitoba or to the organization of your choice.
Obituaries
DR. ARTHUR G. HERSCOVITCH
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arthur Herscovitch on February 3, 2025, at the age of 77.
Arthur will be remembered by his wife Linda, daughter Rennie (Mark), granddaughters, Anna and Miriam, sister Judy (Mel), brother Robert (Lynda), brother Martin (Rose), and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Arthur started his long career as a clinical psychologist in Winkler, Manitoba. A year later he moved back to Winnipeg, where he spent 36 years working at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, where he helped thousands of patients through very difficult times.
Arthur and Linda loved to travel and visited places such as China, Turkey, Morocco and many countries in Europe, and they went on road trips all over North America. Arthur was a very creative man who enjoyed woodworking and sketching, and he loved to engage in physical activities such as jogging and weightlifting. Above all else, Arthur cherished his family and was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle.
Thank you to the wonderful staff at the Simkin Centre for your care of Arthur. Your patience, compassion and understanding are greatly appreciated.
A funeral service was held in Arthur’s honour at the Chesed Shel Emes on Thursday, February 6, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.
Obituaries
RHONDA MATIAS
Rhonda Matias (nee Rykiss) passed away peacefully December 31, 2024, in Toronto, surrounded by her children.
Daughter of the late Belle and the late Max Rykiss of Winnipeg. Rhonda was born in Winnipeg on May 3, 1944, and raised in both the North End on Inkster Boulevard and later Cordova Street in Winnipeg’s South End. Her family nickname was Cookie as her father said she had a round face. She moved to Montreal when she was 18, only to be called back to Winnipeg to take care of her ailing mother.
Growing up in an entrepreneurial household, Rhonda was an independent and successful businesswoman. She worked in retail sales for her parents and from her basement, and later was a successful sales rep. Rhonda was a well-known and beloved figure at her own enterprise, A Store is Born, at the Winnipeg International Airport.
She loved fashion and art and followed in her mother and sister’s footsteps of cooking and baking. She read newspapers, kept in close contact with friends and family, stayed in shape and liked to spend time in the sun.
Rhonda relocated to Toronto in 2000 to be closer to family. She made many new friends and nurtured her love for dogs.
She is survived by her children, Debbi-Jo Matias (Kevin Filkow), Marshall Matias (Merav Barr). Bubbi Cookie adored her grandchildren, Mikaela Matias, Jack Matias, Jesse Filkow and Ari Filkow. She is also survived by her brother Bruce M. Rykiss and aunt Fay Rykiss, nieces and nephews, Jodi Sprackman (Paul), Steven Gilletz (Cheryl Lis), Douglas Gilletz (Ariane Cohen). She was predeceased by her son Jeffrey Matias in June 1973.
Funeral services were held at Chesed Shel Emes and Shaarey Zedek Cemetery in Winnipeg on January 2, 2025, Rabbi Kliel Rose presiding, and Shiva was observed in Toronto.
Pallbearers were Kevin Filkow, Jesse Filkow, Jack Matias, Ari Filkow, Bryan Borzykowski and Steven London.
The family wishes to thank her devoted caregivers, especially Michelle Ciego.
Donations may be made to Jewish Foundation of Manitoba – Rhonda Matias Memorial Fund in support of BB Camp, or charity of your choice.
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