ESTHER D. ISRAELS, MD

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ESTHER D. ISRAELS, MD

Esther Israels passed away at home on December 7, 2020, at the age of 95 years.
She is survived and lovingly missed by her daughter Sara Israels, son-in-law Dan Blankstein, granddaughter Anna Blankstein, sister Evelyn Kreel, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Dr. Lyonel Israels, son Jared Israels, brother Eddy Hornstein, and sister Rebecca Hornstein.
Esther was born on July 7, 1925, in Bengough, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Prince Albert. She graduated from the University of Manitoba Medical College in 1950, and shortly after graduation married Lyonel, whom she had met while they were undergraduates at the University of Saskatchewan. Together they left Winnipeg for additional post-graduate training in Salt Lake City, Zurich and Oxford, before returning to settle in Winnipeg in 1953.
In the mid-1960s, Esther took on responsibility for a nascent clinical investigation laboratory at the Winnipeg Children's Hospital focused on the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. Over the next several decades she expanded this laboratory into the comprehensive state-of-the-art diagnostic Haemostasis Laboratory, housed originally at the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation and now part of Shared Health Manitoba. The laboratory also served as a platform for collaborative research with colleagues in the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, and as a training ground for Hematologists at the University of Manitoba.
Also in the mid-1960s, Esther became a partner in Central Medical Laboratories, which became a successful commercial laboratory, providing diagnostic services at sites across Winnipeg, and expanded her contributions as a scientist and as an entrepreneur.
Esther will be remembered by family, friends and colleagues for her intellect, for her breadth and depth of knowledge in medical science, and for her wide ranging interest in diverse subjects that included math and physics, history and philosophy. She enjoyed the opportunity to share and discuss ideas, often while walking the track with friends at the Reh-Fit Centre; she was a witty and engaging conversationalist. She embraced the arrival of digital technology: having spent her youth in the library, she spent her later years on the internet, where she could immediately satisfy any query that came to mind, with the world's literature at her fingertips.
Lyonel, who received many accolades during his life, as a clinician-scientist and medical leader, was the first to acknowledge the premier place of Esther in his life and in his achievements. They were scientific colleagues, and intellectual partners for 53 years. Together they wrote, among other works, an innovative textbook, Mechanisms in Hematology, a labour of love and long hours, for which Esther served as both author and editor.
Over the course of 50 years, Esther and Lyonel opened their home to an international cadre of physicians and scientists who came to work and train in Winnipeg. She was the consummate host, providing a wonderful combination of good food and lively conversation for those far from their own homes and families.
Esther was a remarkable role model for her daughter and granddaughter, as physician-scientist, business woman and mother. She fulfilled the obligations to an academic career, a home and a family with poise and grace, and was the warm and secure centre of our lives.
The family expresses heartfelt thanks to all of Esther's caregivers who made it possible for her to remain in her beloved home over the last three years, with a particular thank you to those who have been with her the longest, Martha, Gerri, Connie and Wilma.
A private service was held on December 9, 2020, attended by immediate family, due to COVID-19 public health restrictions.
Donations in Esther's memory can be made to the Drs. Lyonel and Esther Israels Memorial Fund at CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, 1160-675 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, phone 204-787-4177.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 19, 2020