ED VICKAR

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ED VICKAR Ed Vickar was a big man, whose size, booming voice, strong and out-going personality filled a room. He was an entrepreneur who loved people and happily shared his wealth with others. He gave his time and his money to local causes, the Jewish Community and the State of Israel. Ed died on February 21, 2003. He was 87 years old. Ed was born in Winnipeg in 1915 to Gella and Sam Vickar, pioneer farmers in the Jewish colony of "Edenbridge" in Northern Saskatchewan. As a young boy he worked on the family farm and store in Brooksby. He wanted to be a veterinarian, but the lack of money during the Depression made that impossible. Instead he turned to business. Eds business ventures began with the purchase of a general store in Fairy Glen, SK. He and his wife Marion Hoffer, whom he had married in 1940, and their daughter, Elaine, lived in the back of the store until 1946. That year Ed moved his family to Melfort so he could sell Cockshutt Farm Equipment. His son, Garry, was born in Melfort. Very soon after his move to Melfort, Ed was approached by the Ford Motor Company to take on their franchise, which he did, then shortly after switched to become a General Motors dealer. His partnership with General Motors continued for 47 years, and while he owned other businesses and properties, the car business was always his first love. During his years in Melfort, Ed took an active role in civic affairs. He was President of the Melfort Board of Trade, President of the Rotary Club and a town councilor for six years. He was President of the Beth Israel Synagogue and chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and was the founder of the Melfort Bnai Brith Lodge. He was also President of the Saskatchewan Motor Dealers Association and Vice-president of the Saskatchewan Implement Dealers Association. In 1963, Ed, Marion and their son Garry moved to Winnipeg to be near Elaine, who had married and was living there, and to take ownership of Community Chevrolet Oldsmobile. Ed continued to serve on numerous committees for General Motors. From 1978 to 79, he was president of the Federation of Automobile Dealer Associations of Canada, the national trade organization now known as the Canadian Automobile Dealer Associations. His reputation as a quality dealer and leader in the community won him the TIME magazine "Quality Dealer Award" for Manitoba in 1973. It didnt take long for Ed to become a leader in the City of Winnipeg, both in the Jewish community and in the larger community. He contributed generously to the Winnipeg Symphony, the St. Boniface Hospital, The United Way, The Winnipeg Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society and The Foundation for Juvenile Diabetes. He was a member of the advisory committee of the Better Business Bureau for the City of Winnipeg. Ed remained a Rotarian all his life, proudly maintaining a perfect attendance record for over 50 years. A few months before he died the Rotary Club made him a life-time member. When he moved to Winnipeg, Ed joined the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, became a regular attendee of services, served on its Board and was the first member of the Shaarey Zedek to set up a trust fund. In summer he was an active participant at the small historic synagogue at Winnipeg Beach where he had a summer home. He was also a member of the Glendale Golf and Country Club. In the 1960s, Ed was Chairman of the Winnipeg Histadruth Campaign and Chairman of the Israel Bonds Campaign. In the 1970s he was Chairman of the Combined Jewish Appeal, Chairman of the Midwest Region of the Federated Zionist Organization and a board member of the Jewish Foundation of Winnipeg. In the 1980s he was Chairman of the Winnipeg Chapter of the Canadian Associates for Ben Gurion University, a Member of the Board of Governors for Ben Gurion University in Israel, a member of the Multiple Appeals Commission of the Winnipeg Jewish Community Council and a member of the Board of Directors for the Winnipeg Chapter of the Jewish National Fund. In 1997 Ed endowed the Marion and Ed Vickar Jewish Museum of Western Canada, located in the Asper Jewish Community Campus. Over the years Ed was honoured for his generosity by The Canadian Friends for Bar Ilon University, the State of Israel Bonds, and the Jewish National Fund. His greatest honour came in 1998 when Ben Gurion University confirmed him with the degree of doctor philosophiae honoris causa. Ed had been one of the founders of the Winnipeg Chapter for the Canadian Friends of BGU, had endowed a library in the School of Social Work, had financed the Hoffer-Vickar Chair of Orthomolecular Studies and built a visitors centre at the universitys campus in Sde Boker. Because Ed couldnt travel, the confirmation took place at the University of Manitoba. The only other non Israeli who didnt travel to Beersheva to receive his honorary Doctorate was Nelson Mendala, who was confirmed in South Africa. In 1994, Ed sold his business to his nephew, Larry Vickar, who had been with him for many years. From that time until his death, he struggled with ill health. In spite of this, he still managed to indulge his passion for golf, both in Winnipeg and in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where he spent his winters until five years before his death. Ed Vickar will be remembered as a man who embraced life and lived it to the fullest. He had a smile for everyone and would walk into a room of strangers and leave calling them friends. He didnt discriminate by race, colour or station in life. He would say: "People are people", and he treated everyone the same - his business associates, the store clerk, the hotel bellman and the former Prime Minister of Canada, John Diefenbaker with whom he was on a first name basis. He took great pride in the achievements of his children and revelled in the company of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ed spent the last few years of his life confined to a wheel chair. Nevertheless he found joy in every cognitive moment and thrilled to the company of family and friends, even when he couldnt open his eyes to welcome them. Eds wife Marion, died in 2000, after 59 years of marriage. He is survived by two children and their spouses, Elaine and Sherwood Sharfe of Saskatoon, SK and Dr. Garry Vickar and Bonnie of St. Louis, MO, and three brothers, Norman, Harry and Joe Vickar, all of Winnipeg. He had seven grandchildren and 11 great-grand-children. Donations in memory of Edward Vickar may be made to the "Marion and Ed Vickar Jewish Museum of Western Canada Fund", through the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, or The Ed Vickar Fund at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 05, 2003