Obituaries
ROSE APPEL
It is with deep sorrow that the family of Rose Appel announces her death, which took place January 14, 2021, at Victoria General Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, at the age of 96.
Rose Appel was born in 1924 in Selkirk, Manitoba, the second child of Harry and Freda Rifkin (née Berg), who themselves emigrated to Canada — from areas now called Belarus and Lithuania, respectively — before the First World War. Her parents worked long, hard hours running a general store on Manitoba Avenue in Selkirk during the Depression years, and Rose began working in the family business as a schoolgirl. Already at the age of 10 she had more formal schooling than either of her parents, and began doing the accounts, making up bank deposits, and serving customers at Rifkin General Store. She also worked long hours in the family’s seasonal hotdog and hamburger stand.
Her father Harry, a soft-spoken, modest man and a World War I veteran, involved Rose in the family’s side business in fur trading. Rose would accompany her dad on short excursions to Interlake Indigenous communities, to trade for mink and, especially, muskrat pelts. Rose also learned to skin and stretch out muskrat hides and eighty years later could still explain the process in detail.
Rose worked hard for the family business, overcoming childhood health challenges and making friends among the Icelandic and Ukrainian immigrant families in Selkirk, despite the lack of time for socializing.
Her social life blossomed in Winnipeg during the Second World War, where she stayed regularly at an aunt’s house and where she met — through a cousin — a young pharmacist from the North End who had taken over a drugstore business in St James with a partner. This was Larry Morris Appel, known to all of his friends as Morris. He became her husband of forty years until his death in 1986. Together they raised three children, first on Waverley Street, and then on Queenston Street in River Heights.
As a senior, Rose remained fiercely independent, living alone in an apartment building across from the Grant Park Shopping Center, cooking meals and shopping for herself into her mid-90s, while taking advantage of Manitoba’s wonderful Home Care services. She relied a great deal on the support and loving care of her eldest son Allan and his family, who live in Winnipeg. And she always looked forward to regular visits from her two U.S.-based sons Brian and Fred, and their families. She is survived by them, by five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and by her younger brother Saul Rifkin, also of Winnipeg.
Her funeral was livestreamed on the website of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Winnipeg. It remains archived on the synagogue website for viewing. May her memory always be a blessing.
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.