ESTHER TESSLER BRESLAW

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ESTHER TESSLER BRESLAW 1921 - 2014 Our beloved mother and nana Esther Tessler Breslaw celebrated her 93rd birthday on August 17. She never lost her huge spirit, her sharp intelligence, her hilarious wit, her disdain for artifice, her loyalty to her friends or her devotion to her family. Always quintessentially Esther, she died on September 1, 2014. Esther was born in Winnipeg to Zlata and Alexander Lepkin and grew up on Selkirk Avenue with her older siblings Ben (Marion), Dora (Percy Hershberg), Pip (Rita) and Mollie (Jim Wash). At 18, Esther married Joey Tessler, a gregarious guy and star athlete with whom she had her three daughters. They were doting parents, great dancers, trophy-winning bowlers and loved summers in Gimli at the family cottage. Esther was a knockout, a woman with great style and taste. She could have pursued a career in interior design. If you gave her a room full of furniture, her natural inclination was to rearrange it, to do it herself and to do it brilliantly. She was a killer bridge and mah jong player and was so happy to keep playing with "the girls" when she moved in 2009 to the Shaftesbury Park Retirement Residence. She deplored extolling the virtues of women's domestic achievements but the truth is, she was a dynamite cook and baker and a gracious hostess. She read novels voraciously and cared deeply about world events. For years she had CNN on all day long. And she never minded if you phoned her late in the evening. She was awake, waiting for her friend Charlie Rose to come on at 11. In 1969 Joey's mother and then aunt died and Esther welcomed both Zaida Max and his brother Tom to live with us. Their presence was wonderful for the children, but not easy for the woman running the house. Uncle Tom had been a virtual stranger, but in a touchstone act of generosity, Esther opened her house to him and made him part of our family. Esther had a very special talent for friendship. She forged deep friendships, many of them spanning decades. Her last illness separated her from her dearest Shaftesbury girlfriends and she missed them enormously. Joey died in 1980, when he and Esther had been married for 40 years and she was only 58. Three years later she met Harry Breslaw, an honest, kind and decent human being -- a mensch. They created a blended family and were lucky to have 18 terrific years together. Esther's last five months were very difficult. She was felled by a brain bleed and recovered; she suffered life-threatening pneumonia and recovered -- though each bounce-back brought her to a place a little less strong than where she'd started. Because she fought so hard, and because she was so funny, she was the darling of a great many nurses and aides on Lodge 2 East at the Deer Lodge Centre. Near the end, Esther made sweet little goodbye speeches to her children, grandchildren and sons-in-law, imparting advice and telling them she loved them, appreciated them and was grateful to them. She would have loved to live forever, if she'd been able to do it pain free. She longed to see her beloved great-grandchildren grow up. She deeply regretted that she wasn't going to see how they turned out or meet her newest great-grandchild in December. She was brave despite her fear, sometimes stoic, sometimes angry. Always engaged. Astonishingly resilient. Esther was her daughters' feminist role model. She taught them that a strong woman can juggle the demands of work and family life, fulfil obligations, be independent and take care of herself and her children. The members of Esther's family have been the greatest beneficiaries of her extraordinary gifts. Her memory is cherished by her children Shelley and Peter Robertson, Debby and Jim Davis, and Susan Tessler and David Gillies; by her grandchildren Jennifer and Andy McKiel; Jonathan Davis and his wife, HJ; Laura Gillies; Joseph Gillies; Sean Gillie s and his wife, Jen, and their Olivia; and Esther's adored great-granddaughters Rachel and Abby McKiel. Esther was always grateful for the devotion of her stepsons, Ian and Jerome Breslaw, and their families -- Shelley, Kevin and her cherished first great-grandchild, Sophie Wynne; Susan, Tom and Ethan Robson; Curtis, Sara, Malcolm and Sammy Breslaw; Mee Yien Breslaw; and John, Josephine and Jada Breslaw. She had a special relationship with her niece Arlene Klapman and will be sorely missed by Arlene and her husband, Sam; children Jordan, Seth and Lisa Klapman; and their families. Esther had a long and terrific run. Her family is grateful for that and is inspired by her incredible energy, her zest for life and the fabulous example she set for us. A funeral was held at Etz Chaim Synagogue on September 2, officiated by Rabbi Larry Lander. Pallbearers were Esther's grandchildren Jennifer McKiel, Andy McKiel, Joseph Gillies, Laura Gillies and Curtis Breslaw, and her stepson Jerome Breslaw. Honourary pallbearers were her sons-in-law, Peter Robertson, Jim Davis and David Gillies, and her stepson Ian Breslaw.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 06, 2014