Surrounded by her family, Toby Koffman passed away on December 23, 2017, at the age of 91, at the Simkin Centre.
Toby was predeceased by her parents Moishe and Freida Rubinfeld, her brother Harry, her husband Jack, and her son Gerry. Toby is survived by her daughter Penny Arenson (Jerry) of Israel, her son Ken of Toronto, and daughter in law Rachelle of Winnipeg, her grandchildren Joshua, Jodi (Nicholas), Daniel (Janice), Eitan (Sivan) and Eli, and her great-grandchildren Yarden, Ofri, Brendan, Gabriel and Jacob.
Toby was born in 1926 in Poland and moved to Winnipeg at the age of three. In 1950, she married Jack and they shared 43 beautiful years together, prior to Jack’s passing in 1993. A year later, they welcomed their first son Gerry, followed by daughter Penny and son Ken.
Toby was a devoted daughter, wife and mother. In 1976, following their Zionist dreams, Toby and Jack moved to Israel. In 1979, they returned to Winnipeg. Volunteering was Toby’s passion and she dedicated her time to helping others within the Jewish community and the community at large. In her later years, both at Shaftesbury and Simkin, Toby always had a smile on her face, and a kind word for everyone who crossed her path.
The service was held at Chesed Shel Emes, officiated by Cantor Tracy Kasner Greaves, burial was at Rosh Pina Memorial Park.
Pallbearers were Nicholas Sasaki, Alecs Chochinov, Alex Arenson, Alex Katz, Grant Zipursky and Jonathan Green.
In Toby’s honour, donations may be made to the Gerry Koffman “Leave More than Memories” fund at the Jewish Foundation, or Simkin Centre.
Special thanks to the staff at Simkin Centre for their compassion and support.
Toby will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
