MAX REICH

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MAX REICH 1936 - 2017 Beloved husband, father, Zaida, brother, uncle, and friend, Max Reich, passed away surrounded by his family on Friday, February 10, 2017. Max was born in 1936, first son of immigrants of Lonavitz, Sam and Rose Reich. He grew up in a home grocery store in Point Douglas and lived there with his parents and younger sister Lorraine until the death of his father. Moving to West Kildonan, Max drew inspiration from his mother, and with her and little bit of money from the store, launched into his real estate career. While still a sideline, Max was anxious to work and support himself, working in a number of positions while slowly building his real estate empire in his free time. Max had a strong group of friends, with whom he remained friends his entire life. A travel adventurer, he first set off to see the world by ship in 1956, including a visit to the nascent Israel, an experience that made him a life-long Zionist. Max met his future wife Fay through his friends and they were married in 1965. With Fay, he began to further build his real estate management business, which eventually grew big enough that the couple moved it out of the basement and into its own proper office. With both Max and Fay at its helm, Astroid Management grew into one of Winnipeg's biggest and most successful real estate management companies, with a reputation for fairness and honesty. Indeed, Max is fondly remembered by many to this day as someone who helped people buy their own first home. Max and Fay raised three children, Stephen, Shani, and Cal, and imbued them with their senses of personal responsibility and honesty. Max's kindness, love, story-telling and sense of humour will be deeply missed by his children, his in-laws, Colleen, Marvin and Samantha, and by his grandchildren, Matan, Ozias, Daliyah, Asher and Rowan. Aside from partnering in a successful business, that allowed Max and Fay the privilege to live out a life they could scarcely imagine as the children of immigrants, Max and Fay traveled extensively all over the world throughout their nearly 52 years together, both on their own, as well as with their wide circle of good friends. Max was a very charitable individual who donated both the fruits of his earnings, as well as his time, to numerous causes, both general and Jewish, including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the Sarah Sommer Chai Folk Ensemble, Jewish Board of Education, and B'nai Brith, just to name a few. Max was always an optimist, a social animal, a voracious reader of nonfiction, an amateur political commentator, and a vaudeville-style jokester. Max will always be remembered by those who knew him for his quick wit, his comedic timing, his love of discussion, and for his numerous parables of wisdom. Facing a terminal illness in his 80th year, Max was realistic, grateful and gracious. He wanted everyone whose life he touched to know that he lived a good life; that he had been blessed with a wonderful wife, children, and grandchildren; that he had been blessed with luck and good fortune to have been born at the right time in history, and in a country which allowed him to realize his dreams; that he had, with Fay, built a great business which garnered respect, and for which he had only his and Fay's hard work and determination to credit. On his last day, and ready to exit the body that had finally betrayed him, he held his family's hands, he whispered that he loved them, and let himself go. Max will be sadly missed and remembered by all those whose lives he touched. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations in Max's honour may be made to CancerCare Manitoba, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or the Jewish Foundation Of Manitoba Endowment Fund.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 18, 2017