JAKOB LEWIN

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JAKOB LEWIN Jakob Lewin, who had shared his life for 55 years with his wife and caregiver, Elfriede, died peacefully at the age of 84 years at Seven Oaks Hospital on August 3, 2003. To mourn his passing are his wife Elfriede and his son Viktor, his daughter-in-law Cheryl; grandchildren, Brianne and Eli, his brothers, Pinie and Don, and sister Luba. A prayer service was held on August 5, 2003 at the Chesed Shel Emes, followed by interment at the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association Cemetery. Private shiva. My father was one of nine children born to Nuska and Alta Lewin. He was born in Losice, Poland on September 10, 1918. My fathers life was one challenge after another, from his childhood years of experiencing the shoemaking trade in Losice, to his early twenties with the Nazi occupation of Poland. The Nazi occupation of Losice with very few exceptions meant the total genocide of the Jewish population of 2900 souls. In my fathers case he escaped death by crossing the border into the Soviet Union only to be deported to the forced labour camp in Ukhta. Here prisoners suffered through the bone-chilling winters and the sweltering summers until 1942 when the Sikorsky accord released approximately 230,000 deported Poles. The accord stipulated the creation of a Polish Army (Anders Army). Stalin pressed the Anders Army to leave Russian soil. The exodus would involve trekking the entire breadth of Russian, through Iran, to Palestine. After their arrival in Palestine my father asked to be transferred to the British 8th Army. From 1942 to 1944 my father fought with the British 8th Army (1st Camouflage Co.) in North Africa at Tobruk and Benghazi. After the Jewish Brigade was formed in 1944, my father asked for a transfer and served with the Brigade in Italy (attached to the British 8th Army - 643 Field Co.), Holland, and Belgium. In 1946 he returned to Rehovot, Palestine to be discharged. My father was awarded the Italy Star, the Africa Star, War Medal 1939-45 and the 1939-45 Star Medal for his years of courageous service. My father remained in Palestine for a short time, always pre-occupied with questions about the fate of his family his search took him to southern Germany where he found some comfort, along with food, housing, and work is a displaced persons camp. Here in the Wasseralfingen Camp he discovered that his brother Don had also survived and he was there with his wife Ruchel and son Philip. My father also met my mother at this camp. In Esslingen, Germany my father found work as a driver for a Jewish orphanage at the Rothschild House. My parents were married in 1948. I came along in October of 1949. We immigrated to America, through the efforts of the American Joint Distribution Committee, in August of 1951. Initially living in New York, we were on the move again, this time to Gary, Indiana. Here my father worked for many years in the steel mill. Becoming aware that his surviving siblings were now living in Winnipeg, MB, our family moved here in 1962, and have been here ever since. My uncle Pinie and aunt Luba also still live here, and my uncle Don now lives in Vancouver, BC. My father was a hard working man and provided well for his family. He loved soccer and baseball and could talk about politics endlessly. Later on in his life he suffered from Alzheimers Disease. As time went by he needed to rely more and more on my mother for his daily needs, but even so his lifelong companion was there to see that his needs were met. He will be deeply missed by my mother, myself, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, his brothers, his sister, his many nephews and nieces, his friends in Israel, and his comrades in the Royal Canadian Legion, General Monash Branch 115. The Lewin family would like to thank Dr. David Meyrowitz for his many years of care, Dr. Barry Campbell for his caring and compassionate attention towards my father during his fight with Alzheimers Disease, Rose Budzinski for being such a comfort for my mother, the staff at Home Care, and the neighbours who showed concern and compassion for my parents. We also wish to thank Rabbi Peretz Weizmann for conducting the interment service, and Blooma Solsberg for catering the condolence meal. My father would wish peace and good health to everyone. Please send donations to The Alzheimers Society of Manitoba.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 08, 2003