Obituaries
JOE COHEN
Dad’s beautiful soul transitioned peacefully to heaven on Thursday May 10 with Harvey and Marilyn at his side.
He was determined to make his life and the life of the family he created into something special, exciting and adventurous.
He will be sorely missed and forever loved by son Harvey (Faye), grandsons Binyamin, Yitzchak and Meir, daughter Marilyn (Alex) and granddaughter Cara (Steven) and great grandchildren Corinna, Luzy and Zackery.
He was driven by a work ethic strong and determined, in order to provide generously for his family.
Born in September 1925 to factory working class parents in Manchester England he aspired to become a Rabbi, his Jewish education and devotion to Judaism a focal point of his life.
The oldest of four siblings and the longest surviving, Joe gave up the rabbi dream and took employment as a cutter in the local garment factory. But he never gave up his active pursuit of his Jewish faith through study, Shul attendance and davening. This was his foundation for the rest of his almost 93 years.
His dedication and adventure started when he volunteered for the Royal Air Force at the age of 17 and served his country for several years during world war 2 as an aircraft mechanic where he serviced Lancaster and Halifax bombers.
He travelled across Europe with the RAF and undertook responsibility , hard work and adventure as he served his country proudly .
After demobilization Joe married our mum Louise in 1946 and they were together until mum passed in 2015 after 69 beautiful years.
How dad missed mum so much these last three years and longed to be with her again!
As much as he loved us kids , grandkids and great grand kids and loved spending fun times he heeded her call and got his wish to be reunited again.
Mum and Dad started their married life in Manchester until Dad responded to the opportunity to emigrate to Australia and start an adventurous new life there in 1949.
A new clothing manufacturing facility beckoned and also the beaches of Melbourne and St Kilda.
But our mum became homesick for her family in Manchester and after a year and a half they returned.
Dad only wanted for mum to be happy and so he respected her feelings of isolation from family despite his spirit of adventure for Australia.
So they boarded the boat and headed back. A sea journey of several weeks.
Back in Manchester Dad resumed his factory work Monday to Friday and his work ethic and desire to provide saw him working on the open markets most Saturdays selling fancy dry goods such as ornaments, trinkets, lamps and toys.
And if that wasn’t enough, he would retreat to the little back shed on Sunday afternoons to do some custom cutting work.
Always striving to to work hard and make a few more shillings to supplement the family income.
Marilyn came along in 1951 and Harvey followed in 1956. I was the big sister to my baby brother and we all enjoyed the fruits of our dad’s labour.
When the sixties rolled around, dad started thinking about making a better life than the factory drudge with limited opportunity for economic or lifestyle advantage.
So when employment opportunity in the Winnipeg garment industry was advertised in a Manchester newspaper and the sponsor has connections to the Jewish community , Dad decided it was time to embark on another adventure .
So in December 1967 he gathered his family and we flew to Canada, first to set foot in Montreal and then off to Winnipeg in the winter!
Dad’s experience in the Winnipeg garment factories was not as pleasant as he expected and working conditions were less than ideal, however he determined that Canada would be our home from now on and 50 plus years later we are ever grateful for his spirit of determination to make life better for his family.
All his efforts resulted in the enrichment of our opportunities as his beloved children, grandchildren and great grandchildren here in Canadian society.
Striving even higher, Dad then decided that the factory life and “working for the man” wasn’t sufficient and subsequently embarked upon a retail clothing career by establishing a high end menswear store called Colliers Gentlemen’s Apparel which was located in the Scotia Bank concourse at Portage and Main.
Taking a chance on business with mum at his side in the store was his great accomplishment of the 1980s!
He so much enjoyed shmoozing with the professional crowd and office employees and others at this prime location and he was at the pinnacle of his working life having achieved status as an independent businessman.
He was a sharp dressed man and totally enjoyed recommending styles and fabrics to his clients as he measured them up for their chic custom made suits.
And beautiful shirts, ties and accessories decorated the walls and fixtures of Joe’s perfectly appointed location in the concourse.
Those years were just exhilarating for dad and mum together.
During the course of dad’s successful retail management career he made friends and acquaintances with many customers , business contacts and manufacturers agents.
His ability to connect with people through genuine interest and concern about others and his ability to debate in politics, sports and global matters set him apart as a highly respected member of the community.
In his retirement he loved to read books and newspapers, keep up with the news on tv and spend time with mum on numerous travels back to England to visit his siblings who still lived there and were unable to fly to Canada.
Their journey to the land of Israel to see Harvey and explore our beloved Jewish homeland was a wonderful memory they made together.
He always longed to return.
Hours spent with the beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren were most precious to dad for whom family was absolutely top priority.
Dad loved being a part of the Gwen Secter Centre and his weekly trips to the Wednesday program where he made new friends and led the minyan service before lunch.
He especially loved David and Margo with whom he created a special bond of love and friendship based on common life experiences and yiddishkeit.
Above all we are thankful for the love and care dad received at the simkin Centre over the last seven years.
There are not enough words for me to express our appreciation to the staff on Weinberg1 and also Simkin 1 for the respect, patience, honour and care they extended to our parents.
Theirs is a labour of love.
Dad was totally supported in his physical, emotional and spiritual needs as Harvey and I worked in partnership with these loving and kind staff members.
You know who you are!
Dad guided us with his love, his wisdom and his understanding, but he was firm and disciplined when and as necessary.
He set an example for how to live life in accordance with the laws of Torah, the moral code for our actions and treatment of others.
He always wanted the best for us and encouraged us to work hard, do well and always “save money”.
We will be eternally grateful for the ethics he instilled in us .
Rest in eternal peace Dad.
You are reunited with Mum now.
We will always love and honour your memories.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” – ?Vera Lynn
Donations in memory of Joe Cohen would be gratefully appreciated to the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre and/or the Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre.
Obituaries
EDITH LANDY
June 30, 1920 – July 2, 2025
After a long and fulfilling life, our Mother passed on July 2, 2025. Born in Winnipeg, she grew up as part of a large extended family.
Mother was predeceased by her parents, Joseph Mayer Freiden and Rivka (nee Fordman), our father, David Landy, and her sisters Syma Katz and Jennie Rich. Edith is survived by her five children and their families: Laurie Landy and Nora Spinks, Barbara and Paul Livingston, Bob and Rhonda Landy, Mark Landy and Jenifer, and Martin Landy, her grandchildren Saralyn, Adam, Alex, Joshua, Ethan, Caitlin, David, Alicia, Lily, and six great-grandchildren, her cousins Norma Chernick and Shlomo Mayman and her many friends and relatives.
Mom grew up as part of a large extended family in the North End of Winnipeg, guided by her father’s values of service, community and the importance of family. She entered the School of Nursing at the Winnipeg General Hospital, now the Health Sciences Centre. She progressed from general duty nurse to nursing supervisor and served as the Assistant Director of Nursing for 15 years until her retirement in 1983. Over the course of her five-decade nursing career, she raised five children, managed a household, cared for many extended family members and remained actively involved in the community.
Community was a foundation of Mom’s life. Mom was very proud of her volunteering at the Winnipeg International Children’s Festival, Winnipeg Folk Fest and other community events. She and David were patrons of the arts, including the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Manitoba Opera. In 2024, she was recognized as the longest continuous subscriber to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
The North Centennial Seniors Association played an important role in our parents’ later years. She ran her kitchen crew, supervised Hot Dog Day and provided food for many bus trips. Mom’s legacy was the Grandma Grandpa Swim Club, which she established, raised funds for, and built into a strong organization.
After a long and remarkable life of service and giving care, Mom accepted the need to receive care. The Family would like to thank Melita and Nelissa for their care and dedication, as well as the staff of the Simkin Centre, especially on Weinberg 2.
We cannot put into words how much she will be missed.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Joseph Freiden Scholarship for Jewish Studies at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
A service was held July 4, 2025, at Chesed Shel Emes – Winnipeg.
Obituaries
SUSAN DIANA FRANKEL
In the kitchen above her to-do list, Susan Diana Frankel kept a comic strip of a mother bird encouraging her baby to take its first leap into flight. “Go for it!” reads the speech bubble above the mother bird. But a second bubble shows her thinking silently to herself: Just don’t go too far.
I’ve always thought that image perfectly captured our mom. She was our biggest cheerleader and greatest supporter – and out of sheer love, she wanted to spend as much time with her family as possible: Matthew and Elly, Robby and Rae, Jed and Eugenia, and our devoted dad, Harvey, her partner of 45 years. In addition to being a loving mother and spouse, she was a perfect grandmother – or “Boba” – to her three granddaughters: Romi, Esti, and Aria, whom she loved obsessively. Our mom passed away at home on June 4. She was our best friend, and to say we are devastated or that we will miss her greatly feels wholly inadequate.
Predeceased by her parents Max and Esther Weinstein and her older brother Joel (Cathie), she will forever be loved and remembered by her brothers Sidney (Grace) and Barry (Sharon), her sister Ronni (Michael), her confidante Edie (Marcel), as well as dozens of nieces, nephews, cousins, and very close friends.
Susan was born the youngest of five children on February 8, 1958, in Winnipeg. The Weinstein family lived in Melville, Saskatchewan, until 1963 before settling in Winnipeg for good. She spent summers in Gimli and at BB Camp, attended both Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate and the University of Winnipeg Collegiate, and later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba (as well as spending a semester at the University of Miami while visiting her parents at their winter condo in Florida – Go Hurricanes!).
My mom married our dad, Harvey, in 1981. They were a shining example of a loving partnership – completely devoted to each other in sickness and in health. They raised us three boys to be close and family-oriented. It feels strange to reduce some of my mom’s favourite places and memories to a list, but that list would include: the family cottage in Gimli, traveling to Palm Springs, Florida, Toronto, Hawaii, Italy, and Las Vegas, shopping and dining with friends and family, playing Mahj, chatting about movies and shows, dragging my dad to social outings and making him change his outfit before they left the house, watching Winnipeg Jets games, and constantly rewatching videos of her granddaughters.
Our mom had a way of making people she’d just met feel like part of her inner circle. She was genuinely interested in what you were doing, how it was going, and how she could help. She asked questions (sometimes a few too many!) because she cared – never because she was nosy. She had a wonderful sense of humour and truly loved to laugh. When something was really funny, you’d sometimes get a snort and even a tear or two. She was simply the best.
Our family would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support we’ve received during this extremely difficult time. A special thank-you to the healthcare workers who gave our mom such a remarkable quality of life despite living with stage 4 cancer for more than seven years: Dr. Marshall Pitz, all the nurses and staff at CancerCare, her homecare worker Lisa, and our family’s incredible friend and caregiver, Gemma Marciano.
Obituaries
SIDNEY RITTER
August 30, 1936 – June 20, 2025
Surrounded by his loved ones, Sidney left this world peacefully on Friday, June 20, 2025.
He is survived by his children Michael (Flynn Gerb), Beth Goldberg (Bobby), Alan and Andrea, and his sister-in-law Elsa Swedko (the late Norman). His memory will live on in his grandchildren, Zachary Goldberg (Karlene), Jessica Goldberg (Rhys Sharkey) and Stefanie Steigerwald (Alex), Halley Ritter, Brianna and Madeline Ritter, Francie and Sari Goldenberg, and great-grandchildren Brooks Goldberg and Ava Steigerwald.
Sidney was born and grew up in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, where he forged many lifelong friendships. He moved to Winnipeg following his marriage to the love of his life, Hinda, of blessed memory. Together, they built a beautiful home for their family, filled with love and caring for their community. Sidney’s commitment to making his world a better place is evident in his extensive volunteer work with the Chai Folk Ensemble, his synagogue, Folklorama and the Folk Arts Council, and his exemplary 62 years of perfect attendance at the Rotary Club of Winnipeg.
Funeral services were held on June 23, 2025, at the Rosh Pina Memorial Park. Contributions in Sidney’s memory may be made to The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, or to a charity of your choice.