FAY SCHWARTZ

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FAY SCHWARTZ After many months of failing health, Fay Schwartz died peacefully at Victoria General Hospital on the morning of November 29, 2001. The eldest child of the late Boris and Sonia Jacobson, Fay was born in Germany while her parents were in transit from Russia to Canada. She was to have four siblings, Dave, Elsie, Max and Izzy, all of whom predeceased her. She was also predeceased by her beloved husband Harold who died in 1987. She is survived and will be missed by her daughter Anita Neville, her son Stanley and daughter-in-law Shirley; by five grandchildren, Sarah, Elissa and Jessica Neville, and Daniel and Mira Schwartz; by many in-laws, nieces and nephews; by her former son-in-law Bill Neville; and by a host of dear and loyal friends. Fay had a long and full life which was enriched by warm relationships with family and friends to whom her home was always open. Family, indeed, was absolutely central to her life and she was a powerful force in many lives in both her immediate and extended families. Warm, hospitable, and generous, she knew her own mind, had strong views and clear opinions on many matters, and was not usually inhibited in expressing them. She was a firm, resolute person who left a mark on all who knew her. Over the years she was involved in a number of community activities, particularly in the Jewish community. Among the more notable of these for her was her time as a Girl Guide leader at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, from which she derived great pleasure and satisfaction. Another was the opportunity which came to her relatively late in life, to spend several months annually in Israel with the CAARI program of the Jewish National Fund. There, over a number of years, she worked as a volunteer performing a variety of tasks on kibbutzim and elsewhere, which included working in orchards, rolling bandages, folding blankets and visiting with the very elderly who appreciated her ability to converse with them in Yiddish. She, who had given so much of herself to her husband and children was, during her days in Israel, able to offer support, solace - and kindness to strangers - even as she engaged in something she knew to be practical, useful and personally fulfilling. The family gratefully acknowledges the extraordinarily compassionate and professional care provided by Dr. Arthur Blank. It also wishes to thank Antonia (Toni) Smith, Fays devoted and longtime companion and friend, for her loving care; and to thank, as well, her dear friend Wally Panasiuk and, more recently, Normie Tabin and Linda Fitzner, for their many kindnesses to Fay. We also want to express our appreciation to the nurses of Unit 4 North at Victoria Hospital who attended Fay, in her last days, with professionalism, sensitivity and kindness. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on Friday, December 1 with Rabbi Green conducting the service. Pallbearers will be Fays grand-daughters, Sarah, Elissa, Jessica and Mira, Barry Mallin and Jason Azuelos. If friends so desire, memorial donations may be made to the Jewish National Fund.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 30, 2001