JESSE KRONSON

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JESSE KRONSON Peacefully, at the Victoria General Hospital in Winnipeg, MB, Jesse Kronson passed August 11, 2013 after a brief illness at the age of 101. She is survived by her son Ken and his wife Johanna, her grandchildren Jeffrey (Jean) and Sari (Wojtek), great-grandchildren Mia, Gabriel and Aaron as well as many loved nieces, nephews and cousins. She is predeceased by her husband Philip in 1985, her son Paul in 2011 and brothers Joe and Rube. She was a member of Iota Alpha Pi sorority and graduated Wesley College (now the University of Winnipeg) in 1933 with a B.A. Jay, as she was known to all, never obtained her driver's license. She "had no use for it" she often said. Despite her apparent lack of modern transport, she somehow found a way to travel enough to touch the hearts and souls of many of her close friends and all of her family. She was known especially for Friday night dinners which included wonderful brisket, unparalleled pickles and OUTSTANDING chicken. She made the best Matzahball soup that many of us have ever had. When not cooking for her insatiable family (especially Paul) she spent many summers with first her children and then her grandchildren at Gimli from the end of the school year, through the entire summer vacation to the beginning of school in the fall. She acted as a dad and mom for many of the eight to 12 year old kids who spent summers at the lake even though she started doing this in her mid-60s. This incredible work ethic was instilled in her as she patrolled Salter Drug with her husband from 1933 to 1954. She valued family above all else and was fiercely protective of hers. She attended her grandson's wedding in California in 2003 only six months after an emergency operation for a ruptured abdominal aneurysm and gleefully paraded around at her granddaughter's wedding in Arizona in 2011 at the age of 99. She will be greatly missed by the "daytime soap opera association of America" as she was a unionized, card-carrying member. She knew what was going on in every soap that was on the air at the time and was not to be disturbed from when her "work day" started at 9:00 a.m. until the last soap went off the air at 4:30 p.m. This was a practice that she kept up until only the last few years when soap operas had begun to fade in popularity. She raised two headstrong boys, Ken and Paul, both of whom graduated from college and were integral members of the Metro Drug franchise in Winnipeg from the late 60s to the early 80s. She was a faithful attendee at all holiday and family functions and was regularly sought out for advice and blessings. Even at 101, she still lived alone, was independent and until a few months ago was crossing Grant Avenue going to Safeway and buying her own groceries. She so fiercely guarded her independence that she refused help from almost everybody who offered. She came into this world on her own terms and she left equally on her own terms. She was profoundly loved and will be greatly missed and remembered by all. Services were held at Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on Friday, August 16. Rabbi Alan Green officiated; pallbearers were Ken Einhorn, Dr. Brent Schacter, Israel Ludwig, Dr. Louis Ludwig, Dr. Jeffrey Kronson and Sari and Wojtek Kuczynski. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Rady Centre or charity of your choosing.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 28, 2013