PAUL BERGER

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PAUL BERGER January 6, 1923 - August 10, 2004 Our beloved husband, father and zaida passed away peacefully at the Sharon Home at the age of 81 years, after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife, Eva; daughters, Yvette Berger and Sharon (Charles) Eisbrenner; son Lindsay (Aileen) Berger and grandsons, Simon and Adam Eisbrenner. Paul was born in Lvov, Poland (Lemberg). He was taken to a Russian work camp at the age of 16, when the Second World War started and joined the Red Army two years later. His mechanical inclination led to his occupations as a mechanic and a driver. He drove trucks, tanks and later a staff car for his colonel. Paul and Eva came to Winnipeg in 1950 and considered Winnipeg a paradise compared to war-ravaged Europe. He bought a truck as soon as he could, and quickly earned a living buying and selling scrap metal and later selling fruits and vegetables in rural Manitoba. His natural friendliness and gift for languages earned him many loyal customers amongst the farmers, as he could talk with them in their own language, whether English, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, German, French or Yiddish. During the winters, he would cut leather in Winnipegs bustling garment industry, and later he made this a full time career. He worked at Rice Sportswear and later as the building manager at the Monash Manor. He was active in the General Monash Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Paul made friends easily, and up until a few months ago, he was still meeting and remembering friends from 25 or 30 years ago. He had an incredible joie de vivre, and was passionate about world affairs, politics and especially events in Israel. He was willing and able to argue with exuberant intelligence about almost any topic. Even though the Second World War cut his formal education short, he made up for it by always having his nose buried in a book, magazine or newspaper. He instilled a love of learning and intellectual pursuit in his children. He was kind, playful, passionate and fearless and had many other good qualities too numerous to mention. Pauls family would like to thank the kind and compassionate staff of the Sharon Home, who made a difficult time easier to bear. Flowers are gratefully declined, and we respectfully ask that you make a contribution to a charity of your choice. We love you and miss you, Dad.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 21, 2004