BESS KAPLAN (OLIN)

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BESS KAPLAN
(nee OLIN)
July 1, 1927 - February 27, 2023

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Bess Kaplan, 95 years of age. She was predeceased by her parents, Jacob and Rachel Olin, her husband Phil Kaplan, and her brothers, Izzy, Samuel and Manuel Olin.
She is survived by her children: Gerry (Nancy), Allan (Rennie), Elaine, and Sheldon (Mona). She is also survived by her grandchildren: Nathanial, Jeff, Karlee, Lauren, Danielle, Michael, and Stephen; and her great-grandchildren: Hayden, Lyla and Ari.
Bess was able to pursue her literary and artistic interests throughout her life. She wrote a weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press called "The Better Years," for many years, in which she recounted the antics of her children (to the great amusement of their friends). She had two published novels: Corner Store (1975) and Malka, Malka (1977). Corner Store has been translated into Italian and Danish. It was a Reader's Digest selection in 1985. Corner Store was revised and republished as The Empty Chair in 1986 for a younger audience. She was the editor of Winnipeg's Jewish Post for three years. She was also a national president of Canadian Authors' Association and a member of the Penhandlers writers' group. She enjoyed sharing her love of writing with students in Winnipeg schools. She often recounted how she had loved to write from the moment she first held a pencil. Bess was a noted painter, with her artwork being proudly displayed in the homes of her family members and in the Simkin Centre, where she lived from 2013 until her passing. She loved listening to music, especially at the weekly Sunday concerts at the Simkin Centre prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bess was a proud, loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She loved spending time with her family, and hosted Friday family night dinners for decades.
The family thanks the staff at the Simkin Centre for the exemplary love and care they provided our mother for the past 10 years; especially the staff of Weinberg Two. We thank Suzana Chefik, who was her companion at the Centre. We also thank the Canadian Writers' Foundation, including Sue Williams and its Board of Directors, for their support of our mother over the years. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre, the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba, the Canadian Writers' Foundation, or another charity of your choice.
Please note that interment has taken place.

We miss you already, mom.
You will live on forever in our hearts.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 04, 2023