CONRAD (CONNIE) CRUST

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CONRAD (CONNIE) CRUST Sadness, of course, surrounded Conrad's hospital bed, but a love story appeared to be playing out its final chapter. The 15th anniversary of his beloved wife's death - 6 Iyar on the Hebrew calendar - fell on Tuesday, May 6, 2014. As a symbolic yahrzeit memorial candle marked the window sill, Conrad drifted further away, pulled away. Conrad "Connie" Crust - our father, grandfather - passed away peacefully on Friday, May 9, 2014. He was 83. About a month after Helen died from a quick, fierce cancer at age 59, it was discovered Conrad had a similar form of cancer, and a second round of hospital visits overwhelmed our reality. As it turned out, the forces in the heavens had decreed: Sorry, sir, it's not your time; you have to stay down there a little longer. He was stuck with us for another decade and a half, much to our gratitude. Conrad was diagnosed with a return bout of cancer a little over a week before his death. Conrad, a civil engineer for the provincial government, was born December 17, 1930, in Winnipeg, the younger son of Jewish Eastern European immigrants, Louis and Pearl Crust, who operated their family business, Crust Furriers & Tailors, on Corydon Avenue. Conrad, predeceased by his brother Dr. Joseph Crust, attended Kelvin High School and studied engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Curiously, the grand old house on Academy Road where Baba Pearl lived during the latter part of her life is now a second-hand and antiquarian bookstore. Connie lived in that house with his mother when Helen entered his world. Helen Jacobson was born in 1939 and grew up in Burbank, California, a bedroom community just beyond Hollywood. In 1960, she happened to come to Winnipeg for her cousin Annette's wedding, met Conrad at the wedding, decided Winnipeg was a lot more fun than Burbank, so she returned indefinitely, taking over Annette's bed in the Scharfstein household. Her hair dyed blonde, and always carrying a look that could rival any fashion model, Helen was the vivacious California cousin that drove the little blue 1957 T-bird. Helen and Connie were married in 1961 at Hollywood Temple Beth El, a synagogue where luminaries from the Golden Age of Hollywood could be routinely seen. After a few years in the Los Angeles area, they moved back to Winnipeg, planting roots on Queenston Street, coincidentally, just across from the Scharfsteins. Over the years, Conrad was a councillor on the municipal government in Winnipeg Beach, coached hockey, and could typically be seen on the sidelines watching this son play hockey, that son at soccer, another son going at it in rugby, or a daughter hustling in ringette. He enjoyed a good game of curling, then, in retirement, was a daily aerobics buff at the Reh-Fit fitness centre, while always savouring moments at the family cottage "at the beach." Looking out at the sparkling water that highlights the lakefront cottage, he would say to Helen in a playful, romantic tone, "It's such a mechaya" - Yiddish for a place that is truly wonderful, sheer pleasure. With his red toolbox, Connie could be quite the handyman, but it was said he didn't know the difference between a dishwasher and a stove. There is the story of him discovering his toddler of a son with a wet, soiled diaper while Helen was out. Not sure what to do, as the story goes, he set his kid in the bathtub to sit it out until mom got home. Nevertheless, the man had a charm that could melt a woman's heart. Yes, Conrad was outright stubborn at times - he adamantly refused a hearing aid, a walker - but he had a soft spot that warmed people to him. He was pretty well useless in the kitchen, but was known for making a pot of something of a mashed mush called "eggs and potatoes," which thoroughly disgusted Helen, yet was the kids' treat when she was out at some function or gathering. A child of the Great Depression, and ever so watchful of his expenses, during his last days, when a nurse offered him a Tylenol for some pain, Conrad murmured to her: "How much does it cost?" As yahrzeit memorial candles burned, it was clear Helen's presence was not far away. The time was approaching. Conrad is survived by son Lou and his partner Christine, son Paul and his wife Jodi, daughter D.D. and her husband Paul, son John, and grandchildren Sarah, Lainey, Hailey and Zachery, all of Winnipeg. The family extends a very special thank you to the wonderful hospital staff that made Conrad's stay as comfortable as possible. A memorial service was held Tuesday, May 13, at Chesed Shel Emes chapel and mortuary. If friends and relatives wish, donations may be made in Conrad's memory to CancerCare Manitoba. Connie will be buried next to Helen at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The funeral is scheduled for Monday, May 19.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 17, 2014