JUDITH VERONIKA WEISZMANN (nee KOPSTEIN)

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(continued...) JUDITH VERONIKA WEISZMANN (nee KOPSTEIN) Judith was a life member of APEGM, having been active in membership for 45 years. She was also a "Fellow of Engineers Canada", a national recognition to honour individuals who have given noteworthy service to the engineering profession through their work and volunteerism. Judith pioneered a long service career as a woman in a male dominated profession, paving the professional path for other women in the engineering profession. Over the next 48 years, Judith and Erwin designed a large variety of structures and specialized engineering works, including schools, banks, community centres, airplane hangars, industrial and apartment buildings, churches and synagogues. With advancements in computing technology, Judith and Erwin were able to transition into retirement during the latter years of their working lives by "taking their office" with them to Hawaii over the winter months. Judith was a believer in educating future generations about the devastating effects of the Holocaust. She was in frequent demand as a speaker and gave very generously of her time, lecturing for decades about her experiences during the Holocaust to high school and university students. She hoped that by teaching future generations about the Holocaust, that hatred leading to such cataclysm could be avoided in future. In 2012, marking the 100th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg's birth, the Swedish Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp. When developing the stamp, the designer contacted Wallenberg's half-sister Nina Lagergren about the design. Nina provided the designer with a copy of Judith's Schutzpass, which Judith had given her in gratitude 15 years earlier when Nina was in Toronto to attend the unveiling of a statue honouring her half-brother Raoul. At the time the stamp was created, no one in the Swedish Postal Service had any idea that Judith Kopstein had survived the war. In 2013, Canada Post also issued a Wallenberg stamp featuring Judith's Schutzpass in the same fashion as the Swedes had done. It was complete serendipity that Judith's daughter Ann bought a set of the Wallenberg commemorative stamps when they were publicly released in Canada, "throwing them into her purse and only looking at them the next day." When she told her mother that her Schutzpass had found its way onto the stamp, Judith was exceedingly honoured and humbled to find herself on both the Swedish and Canadian stamps with her hero, Mr. Wallenberg. This story circulated rapidly within the Jewish community across Canada and among organizations that deal with Holocaust education and race relations, and the demands for speaking engagements grew. Judith held human rights experts, academics, Holocaust educators and high school and university students equally spellbound in her descriptions of the events that occurred in and around the Nazi occupation of Budapest and following the arrival of Wallenberg. As a result of an invitation to speak at the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) conference in Toronto in October 2013, Judith received a further invitation from the Canadian government to speak at another IHRA meeting, in February 2014 in Sweden, as their guest of honour. This invitation gave Judith the opportunity to realize a lifelong dream, to travel to Wallenberg's homeland. The stories she told of her survival experiences resonated as deeply with the Swedish audience as they did with those in Canada. Judith felt an enormous debt of gratitude to Wallenberg and, when speaking about the Holocaust, she always underscored the good that one person can do in the world. She also had two other key messages: pay attention to the pockets of anti-Semitism springing up in some parts of Europe and North America, and that living in peace with your neighbours is much better than the alternative. Beyond her professional achievements as a structural engineer and as a Holocaust educator, Judith is remembered for her abiding love for her son and daughter and for her grandsons. She is remembered for her Old World elegance and her New World savoir-faire, and for her generosity, intelligence and warmth. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Funeral services were held at Shaarey Zedek on May 30, 2014 followed by interment at Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. The service was performed by cherished long-time family friend Rabbi Neal Rose. Shiva was observed at Judith's home. Pallbearers were: Gabriel Brodsky-Weiszmann, Daniel Brodsky, Neil Cutler, Yoni Coodin, Adi Koifman-Chagin and Zack Baron. Honorary Pallbearers were Dr. Nathan Wiseman, Paul Barsony, Burtie Bass, David Cohen, Dr. Gary Cohen, Henry Haak, Ted Ramsay and Marcel Ross. The family wishes to thank the doctors and staff at CancerCare Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre, St. Boniface Hospital and Riverview Health Centre for their kindness and compassion. Should friends desire, donations in Judith's memory can be made to the Jewish Child and Family Services of Winnipeg.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 31, 1969