ANNE POLLOCK

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ANNE POLLOCK (née LAVEMAN) Anne Pollock, after a brief illness following a long and gentle decline, passed away at the age of 93 on Friday, February 8, 2013 at Kensington Gardens in Toronto. She was predeceased by her father Zailig, her mother Charna, and, as the last of her generation, by her sisters Eeta (who had died before Anne was born) and Goldie, and her brothers Charlie and Earle. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Zailig and Didi, Nathan and Jennifer, and Shmee and Terry; by her grandchildren, Joshua and his wife Kate, Daniel and Gabriel, Asa and Jonathan, Jennifer and Michael; and by her great-grandchildren, Claire and Adam. Anne was born in Winnipeg on May 4, 1919 into a loving family. She always spoke of Papa and Mama with the greatest affection, and her often amusing tales of growing up with Goldie, Charlie, and Earle were filled with warmth. With such a loving upbringing, it is no surprise that Anne's own love of family "of her parents, her siblings, her children and her grandchildren" was one of her strongest and most endearing qualities. Anne was devoted to her husband Johnny, whom she married in 1947 after a whirlwind courtship. Johnny was an immigrant, who always maintained certain old-country attitudes, and he sometimes found his Canadian girl with her modern ways puzzling, but their deep mutual love and respect was never for a moment in doubt. Their partnership extended beyond family matters as well. Before she met Johnny, Anne had been a successful bookkeeper, but, as was common in those days, she gave up her career to tend to her family. Nevertheless, she played a crucial role in the development of Johnny's very successful business, Clifford's Ladies' Wear, both as a bookkeeper and a general partner. Anne and Johnny's children always understood that The Business owed as much to their mother as to their father. Anne did, too, though she would never actually say so. A fund of common sense and humour, Anne's many successes both at school and at work had contributed to a well-earned self-confidence, her years working at "the Barracks" during the War and then at Globe Bedding were particularly rewarding. And she instilled in her sons a similar confidence that they would succeed in whatever they chose to do. Anne was a very sociable person with many friends from a wide range of backgrounds. In earlier years she and Johnny met regularly with a group of friends for their Tanach Chug. In later years, the heart of her social life was her morning walk in Kildonan Park, where she would have coffee at the Pavilion with the Girls . She also attended art classes and became an avid art collector and enthusiastic amateur painter, bringing to her family home an appreciation of the creative and the aesthetic. For many years, as well, she drew on her skills as a bookkeeper to contribute to the financial viability of Camp Massad, which her three sons attended. As Johnny began to show signs of decline in his eighties, Anne's life became much more focused on the home, where she devoted herself to his care. Not long after Johnny's death, she moved to the Portsmouth, where she quickly gathered a group of lively friends around her, as she had always done. By then, all of her sons had moved to Ontario. On their frequent visits back to Winnipeg, they were delighted to see her thriving and in her element. As Anne found independent living increasingly challenging, she moved to a long-term care facility, first in Winnipeg, and then in Toronto. Even in her last years, when she was no longer able to communicate clearly in words, her continued love of her sons and their families, and her delight at their visits, was always evident. The staff at Kensington Gardens clearly loved her for her gentle ways and for her obvious gratitude for their unfailing kindness and help. We know she would have wanted us to express our deepest appreciation to them for helping to make her last years comfortable, and, we hope, happy. Anne will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her, but her influence on her children, grandchildren, and even on the great-grandchildren, who never knew her directly, will remain for t.he rest of their lives. For the day and time of the funeral, check Funeral Information on the Chesed Shel Emes website (http://www.chesedshelemes.org/) Donations may be made to Camp Massad (info@campmassad.ca, 204-477-7487).

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 11, 2013