DR. SIMON SAUL BERGER

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

DR. SIMON (SHIMMY) SAUL BERGER Shimmy died quietly on August 28, 2016 in Rancho Mirage, California where he had lived with his beloved wife, Naomi for the past several decades. He endlessly referred to his marriage to Naomi as the best decision of his life. He was born on September 2, 1919 in Estevan, Saskatchewan to Joseph and Rhoda Berger who fled from the widespread anti-semitism of Poland and Romania. Shimmy was a dynamic and irreverent character with a diversity of interests, talents and sensibilities, absent any pretense. He was a fighter, starting with his early school days in Estevan when he stood up to his taunting schoolmates who were hostile to Jews, as he ran the gauntlet of their fists. He was editor of the Estevan high school newspaper which attracted the attention of the R.C.M.P. over his editorial which praised Communism over Fascism. He was a champion competitive runner and an award-winning orator throughout his school years. Shimmy graduated from the University of Toronto medical school in 1943 and pursued specialist training in New York City; he practiced as a dermatologist for many years in Winnipeg where he and Naomi raised their family. Despite his many achievements, he never forgot the plight of the disadvantaged and often told his children that he never blamed the poor man for stealing bread. He committed volumes of poetry to memory, and in his final days continued to recite the lines that brought him a lifetime of joy and solace. His family and, in the end, his caregivers, were regaled with his renditions of Broadway musicals. The tribulations of Shimmy's youth and the devastation of the Holocaust left no doubt in his mind about the need for a Jewish state. In 1947 in New York he masqueraded as a news reporter to gain entry to the United Nations to witness the General Assembly vote which created the State of Israel; that evening he celebrated with many others in Times Square. Shimmy was predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Maurice, Benny and Bunty. He is survived by his wife, Naomi, his children and grandchildren, Philip (Frederika Rotter), Pia and Joseph; Gilda (Michael Gordon), Talia and Eytan; Lisa (Richard Stall), Nathan (Tali), Jacob, Benjamin, and Rosa; and Samuel, Shanni; his sister Molly Golden, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Shimmy was not religious, hence, and at his insistence, there was no funeral or memorial.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 03, 2016