EDWARD HALPRIN

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EDWARD HALPRIN Edward Halprin died on August 30, 2012 at the age of 82. Born on December 3, 1929, he was the middle child of Joseph and Rae Halprin, a lawyer and doting homemaker. Growing up he was blessed with lots of opportunity but marched to his own drum. While both his brothers followed in their father's footsteps, pursuing legal careers, ever the non-conformist, after attending Grosvenor School and Kelvin High, he struck out on his own, first as a building contractor, building Shop Easy stores across the prairies and later, as an entrepreneur. For a long time his street smarts more than compensated. He was a gregarious risk taker and lived life large. In his early 40s, his theme song was My Way and he often joked the line, I did it my way would be a suitable epitaph to be carved on his headstone. He had an air of mystery about him. He golfed, fished and hunted. He flew a plane and drove a new car every year. Later, he purchased a Harley Davidson which he rode with other like-minded strangers across British Columbia and Washington. Ruggedly handsome with an excess of personality, he was often mistaken as a celebrity. Certainly he dressed the part. The pictures in his wallet were of his shoes - alligator, snake, and iguana. It was a joke of course that he favoured these things over his daughters, Leigh and Kerrie, but in retrospect it was a true indices of how unconventional was his home life. He eschewed many family, school and synagogue events, preferring instead to teach his children the lyrics to his favourite Sinatra songs or to shoot a rifle - which he did at the family home on Campbell Street, where he had a target installed in the basement precariously close to the furnace. Despite a rebellious streak, he was conservative in his parenting, among other things, enforcing a strict curfew during his children's teenage years. Since there wasn't anything he hadn't done or tried, there wasn't anything they could pull over on him, he would warn as they left to go out; one time greeting a date past curfew with a shotgun at the door. He was only packing for a hunting trip but he'd made his point. In lighter moments, he delighted in asking teenage dates how old they were, responding that when he was their age, he was 30. In life experience, he was. Both unconventional and tough, he was equally high principled and fiercely loyal. And while he certainly had a temper, he was also soft, loving and generous. He both lent and gave money to friends in need and could always be counted on to provide opportunities or employment. He loved people of all creeds and rejoiced in other cultures. Blind to race and colour, his friends included all nationalities and people from all walks of life. His hospitality had no limit, frequently and unexpectedly bringing stray people home for dinner to become lifelong friends. His door was always open. One close friend lived off and on with him over many years and cities. And then there were his grandchildren. They were Adonises and beauties. He delighted in their exploits and accomplishments, always showering them with praise and love. Though he lacked formal education he was an advanced thinker with modern ideas. He was a voracious reader, a lover of history and art. He had an eye for design and collected all manner of things, from Sevres China and French antiquities to modern furniture and Dali etchings. Wherever he lived, his shelves were lined with books, his most prized possessions. He never stopped learning and could converse on almost any topic. His interests and creative genius were reflected in what he did for a living. He dabbled in car leasing, creating and operating Five Wheels Western Limited, long before Hertz and Avis entered the markets here in Winnipeg. He predicted the evolution of denim from work wear to ladies wear as early as 1962 and set about acquiring the Canadian rights to Lee Jeans. At a time when women rarely wore slacks and never at school, on weekends he dressed his daughters and wife, Alice, head to toe in jeans, denim jean jackets and penny loafers. Today it is hard to believe their mortification as they skulked in the back lanes to avoid detection. In the mid 1960s, he moved to California to capitalize on the real estate boom. At a time when Asian manufactured automobiles were considered inferior, he subsequently returned to Winnipeg opening the largest Datsun or Nissan dealership in Canada, betting on his hunch that the cheaper Japanese product would soon make inroads into the lucrative North American market and ultimately eclipse Detroit. Always fascinated with electronics, he was a pioneer of home computer, fax and mobile phone use, owning early versions of each. In fact, in the 1960s, decades before the mainstream use of cell phones, he used two-way radios to communicate with his residence on Campbell Street from his car. And later in the 1980s, while others scratched their heads in wonder, he studied DOS manuals to learn how to book airline tickets online. When things didn't happen quickly enough, he lost interest, became disillusioned and moved on to the next great thing. In between, he always returned to mortgage lending and the construction industry, mainstays which led him from Winnipeg to life in Port Arthur and Fort William, Edmonton, Calgary, Los Angeles, Las Vegas (where he built hotels with partner and lifelong friend, Gil Sellen) and ultimately to Vancouver. His fortunes grew and shrank ending in a ruinous lawsuit over a land claim in Vista, California that ultimately wiped him out. It was a case of putting too much trust in others. Following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2007 he returned to Winnipeg after an absence of over 37 years. Though he was cared for by a family who loved him, those final five years were marked by some of the saddest, heartbreaking moments imaginable. It was difficult for all but mostly for Alice. As his primary caregiver she gave up so much to care for him and to make the best of his last years. It's said that you don't test your metal on a sunny day but rather that it takes a storm to discover one's strength. She rose to a hard situation. Whereas he was freed from the demands thinking and living place on people, she carried the burden of the illness. Ed spent the final 17 months of his life in care, first at the Simkin Centre and more recently as a panelled patient of the Victoria General Hospital, where living was more tragic than dying. It is crushing to think what his life there would have been without the support and intervention of his immediate family and his devoted friend and companion, Mathe Attiglah, whom he loved and was loved by in return. He and Mathe had wonderful chemistry, sharing jokes and fun in a friendship that belied the miserableness of the circumstances and surroundings. It was touching to overhear Mathe play along, speaking in a made up language or with a Jewish or Indian accent as the joke required. For a long time it sufficed but by late August it seems he'd had enough. It was a sad end for such a fun loving and charismatic person but it is a relief to know it is over for him. We prefer to remember him as the large living, gregarious, non-conformist of his youth. We take solace in the fact that he had a family who loved him and that now, finally, he is again free and independent. Predeceased by his parents and his younger brother, Paul William (Bill), he is survived by Alice, daughters, Leigh (Steven Raber) and Kerrie (Richard Leipsic), grandchildren, Adrian (Anna) and Barry (Hayley) Leipsic and Rachel and Alexandra Cooper, brother, R Kenneth (Elyse) and family, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. No formal memorial service or Shiva will be held. Friends and family are invited to visit and remember Ed on Saturday, September 8, 2012, between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at 111 Kingsway. If desired donations in support of Alzheimer's research would be appreciated.
Publish Date: Sep 6, 2012

EDWARD HALPRIN It is with profound sadness that the family of Ed Halprin announces his passing on Thursday, August 30, 2012, at Winnipeg, Manitoba. More complete obituary to follow.
Publish Date: Sep 4, 2012

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 06, 2012