RITA KLAPMAN (WINEGRATSKY)

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RITA KLAPMAN (nee WINEGRATSKY) February 4, 1924- July 26, 2011 It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, baba, great-baba, sister and aunt. Rita (nee Winegratsky) Klapman died peacefully at age 87 on Tuesday, July 26 at St. Boniface Hospital with her immediate family by her side. She coped with a life-threatening illness much as she had lived, with strength, style and grace. Rita was born in 1924 in Winnipeg to Fred and Dora Winegratsky. She married her first and only love Mickey Klapman in 1942, and together they raised three daughters, Shaaron, Lynn and Hilarie. Rita grew up in Winnipeg's North End, and though times were tough, she always remembered the good times with family and friends, a love of horses, dancing to klezmer music, speed-skating and meeting her Mickey at a skating rink. They made a perfect match, creative, practical, generous, adventurous, inspiring each other to take on whatever challenges lay ahead in their life together. When their daughters were young, Rita managed a busy household where she took pride in her cooking and sewing talents, always welcoming friends and family. For a time, she was president of her Hadassah chapter. In later years, she worked in clothing sales and then applied those talents to a small retail business, working alongside Mickey, and then together they ran the cafeteria at Mid-West Garments until they retired to their winterized home in Winnipeg Beach. There, Rita tended the flowers, and Mickey the vegetables, which Rita then pickled and processed into an array of homemade delicacies. As she aged, Rita measured her own health by her output of cookies and holiday baking. She always wanted it to reach all her family, no matter how far away. In all that she did, Rita was a learner who became an expert at whatever she tackled, from making Russian strudel as he grandmother showed her, to creating the latest fashions at her sewing machine. Following the death of her beloved Mickey, she rallied to continue a life of learning and loving to be with people studying Hebrew, and becoming a regular at synagogue and seniors' programs at the Gwen Sector Community Living Centre and the Rady Centre. She enjoyed rekindling old friendships, a new independence and doing things on her own terms, as best she could. She had a smile that lit up the room and her line, no matter how hard things were, was So, what else is good? Rita is predeceased by her parents, Dora and Fred Winegratsky, her brother Bill and her beloved Mickey, husband for 64 years. She is survived by daughters Shaaron Weinstein and husband Hymie, Lynn Henoch and husband Morris, Hilarie Klapman and husband Guy Staughton; grandchildren Tannis Weinstein and husband Dudi Afriat, Josh Weinstein and wife Brenlee Schacter, Jerrod Henoch and wife Mary, Seth Henoch, Ardith Henoch, Russell, Devin and Cory Staughton; great-grandchildren Itai, Noah, Dylan, Emunah, Maia, Mika, Samantha Micki, and Matanelle; sisters Louise Gladstone and Sheila Spigelman, brother-in-law Sam Klapman and sister-in-law Ruth Klapman, and adoring nieces and nephews. Funeral services took place on Thursday, July 28 at Congregation Etz Chayim with internment at Rosh Pina Memorial Park. Pallbearers were grandsons Josh Weinstein, Jerrod Henoch, Seth Henoch, Russell Staughton, and nephews Hartley Klapman, Avery Spiegelman, and Howard Putter. The service included eulogies by Cantor Tracy Kasner and grandson Josh Weinstein and a poem by granddaughter Ardith Henoch, written for Rita on her 85th birthday, called if your hands could sing . The final verses are: If you hands could sing they would since of wedding dances and birthing rooms arms wrapped around songs wrapped around grandchildren and great-grandchildren the songs of your hands for your hands can sing I know I have heard them The songs of Rita's loving hands and heart remain forever in the hearts of her family and friends. We are deeply grateful that she passed without too much pain and suffering. Thank you to the nurses and doctors at St.Boniface Hospital for their exemplary care and compassion. Those desiring to make a donation in Rita's memory can do so through the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba to the Rita and Mickey Klapman Fund, Congregation Etz Chayim, or the charity of their choice.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 20, 2011