JOSEPH WIESENTHAL

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JOSEPH WIESENTHAL Joseph Wiesenthal passed away on Friday, July 19, 2013 at the Simkin Centre, Winnipeg, and was laid to rest by family and friends on July 22. He was predeceased by his wife, Evelyn, as well as his brother Matthew and sister Goldie. He is survived by his children: Benjamin, Frayda (and Amnon), Zeph (and Tanya), Ellen Ruth (and Eyal), Anna-Mae (and Andrew) and Alain (and Moleigh), as well as 11 grandchildren. Born in Winnipeg in 1922 to immigrant parents Benjamin and Frayda, Joe grew up in the city's North End. At the age of 12 he began to work to help support his family, travelling by train with his younger brother in the summers to remote locations in northwestern Ontario to trade drygoods for blueberries. During the Second World War he served in the Air Force as an aviatronics mechanic, stationed in England. In 1949 he married Evelyn Steiman at Winnipeg's Royal Alexander Hotel. They stayed in the North End raising their family. Joe was involved in several business ventures that included making boats and equipment for fighting forest fires. He eventually entered into a partnership with Izzie Charad and they established the Rubinstein Bros. branch in Winnipeg: It became a main supplier and provider of service to the needle trade in Western Canada. He was known as an excellent mechanic, locally and beyond. Indeed, he was very gifted with his hands, and was able to build or repair almost anything. Joe was very involved in and dedicated to supporting the Jewish community, giving generously of his time as well as financially. Among the many organizations and institutions he supported were the J.N.F., the U.J.A., The Talmud Torah and Joseph Wolinsky Jewish day schools, the Chesed Shel Emes and the Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem. He was instrumental in establishing and maintaining the Talmud Torah Beth Jacob Synagogue on Main Street. His generosity extended beyond his own community and included organizations such as the Salvation Army. He was a longstanding member of the Masons, and eventually joined the Shriners. Perhaps less known are the times that he donated his time and money to help other businessmen from failing. He did so without looking for recognition and while protecting the dignity and privacy of those he helped. He believed strongly that if he had more than others, then he had an obligation to help them. He bore a strong sense of obligation to family and community, always eager to lend a hand to friends, community members, neighbours and relatives. He was a good friend to many. Joe loved his family. A man who worked hard all his life, he enjoyed immensely his home away from home on Lake Winnipeg - a place he took great pleasure in sharing with whomever came to visit. It was there that he spent his most treasured time with his grandchildren and where he enjoyed fishing and boating and where he was able to indulge in his various pastimes which included going to garage sales, making wine and bread. He also derived a great deal of pleasure from synagogue life: for many years he could be seen walking to morning prayers with his black Labrador dog in tow. Joe is missed by his family and friends. May his memory be a blessing to us all.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 29, 2014