ALFRED HEIDINGER

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ALFRED HEIDINGER Suddenly, on October 20, 2018, Alfred "Freddy" Heidinger passed away at the age of 90. Freddy is survived by Adele, his loving wife of 57 years, son Garry (Sharon), grandson Brandon, brother George (Clarice), sister-in-law Sally Fox, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Gershon and Roszalia; brothers, Laszlo and Sandor; sister Edith and brother-in-law Isaac Fox. Freddy was born in Budapest, Hungary on October 19, 1928. As a teenager, his life was threatened by the Holocaust when the Nazis came to Hungary in 1944. He had several miraculous escapes due to his courage and quick thinking and brought himself and his younger brother George safely through the war, although sadly they lost the rest of their family. After the war, Freddy moved to Israel, where he fought in the War of Independence as a member of the Fifth Army Engineering Corps. In 1952, he moved to Winnipeg to be with his brother George. There he met the love of his life, Adele, and they married July 30, 1961. They had a loving and happy marriage, enjoying activities such as dancing and playing cards with friends, and, after Freddy's retirement travelling to warm locations, particularly Hawaii. He and George remained extremely close their whole lives. The two families lived next door to each other and Garry and his cousins grew up more like siblings. For most of his working life, Freddy was employed at Jacob Crowley. When he retired, he began a second career as a wedding videographer. In his later years he got to enjoy his grandson Brandon, of whom he was so proud that his home was filled with photos of him. He also acted as a secondary Zaida to his niece's twins, Chloe and Louis. He loved reading about all kinds of topics and kept abreast of world events. He wrote several opinion pieces which were published in the Winnipeg Free Press, and his personal story was included in the book Voices of Winnipeg Holocaust Survivors. Everyone who met him commented on what a kind, sweet, positive and decent man he was. During his lifetime, Freddy faced several serious health challenges, including four primary cancers and in his last year-and-a-half of life, his deteriorating health led to an extended hospital stay and then to moving to the Simkin Centre. However, he never complained, and his strength of will and always positive attitude allowed him to fight back from the brink of death on several occasions. The day before his death, he celebrated his 90th birthday with family and friends. He slipped away quietly the following evening. The family would like to thank the staff of Simkin 1 for their excellent care of Freddy, especially Dr. Pacin and his main nurses Cheryl and Olga. As well, they would like to thank Maria, Oksana and Terry for their devoted care. Finally, they would particularly like to thank his great-nephew Brendan, whose medical knowledge, love for Freddy and care and advocacy contributed significantly to Freddy's outlasting the doctors' predictions. The funeral took place at the Chesed Shel Emes Chapel on October 25, 2018 with interment at the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery. Pallbearers were his grandson Brandon Heidinger, his nephews Randy Heidinger and Bryan Heidinger, his great-nephews Louis Heidinger and Brendan Kaplan and family friend Cory Shapiro. Honorary pallbearers were Alvin Toll and Allan Shinfield. If so desired, donations can be made in Freddy's name to the Canadian Cancer Society. Freddy truly embodied the quote "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and controversy."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 07, 2018