GELBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-12-11 published
GELBER,
Sylva
Malka, OC, LL.D.
93 years old, Sylva Malka
GELBER, whose years of activism in
pre-Israel Palestine eventually propelled her to be the first
director of the Canadian Department of Labour's Women's Bureau,
died on December 9th, 2003, of complications from a stroke. She
was 93 and lived in Ottawa.
During the heady years of pioneering in gains for women's rights
and Medicare in Canada during the 1960s and 70s, she travelled
the country, never shrill and always reasoned in her campaign
for equality for women in the country's labour force. She took
this pragmatic approach to the United Nations where she represented
Canada on the United Nations Commission for the Status of Women
between 1970 - 74.
A social and industrial activist at heart, she never lost her
zest for a good argument on those issues which had been part
of her adult life since she left her comfortable Toronto home
in the early 1930s for the turmoil of Jerusalem and Palestine.
There she became the first graduate of the Va'ad Leumi School
of Social Work - now the Faculty of Social Work of the Hebrew
University - and took on jobs incongruous with her upbringing
which had included schooling at Havergal College, a private girl's
school.
She worked in Palestine during the Mandate as a family counsellor,
a probation officer and medical social worker at Hadassah Hospital,
and then with the Palestine Department of Labour from 1942 -
48 when she returned to Canada. The adventuresome 15 years Sylva
GELBER lived in the turmoil of Palestine are chronicled with
affection, awe and frankness in ''No Balm in Gilead: A Personal
Retrospective of Mandate Days in Palestine'' published in 1989.
By the time she moved back to Canada, she could switch effortlessly
among Hebrew and Arabic and English which impressed no one in
bureaucratic Ottawa, but did startle the Capital's stuffy side,
she often noted mischievously.
Her deep red lipstick and nail polish when paired with her fast
sports cars belied the image of the traditional Ottawa civil
servant she could never be, despite distinguished and proud accomplishments
in promoting federal health insurance and Medicare until they
became the law of the land.
Along the way, she accepted many appointments to serve Canada
at International Labour Organization conferences, the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations
General Assembly. She was a member of the Order of Canada and
was awarded honorary degrees from several universities including
Queen's, Memorial, Trent, Guelph and Mount St. Vincent.
Sylva Malka
GELBER was born in 1910 in Toronto to Sara
(MORRIS)
and Louis GELBER.
Her father, a survivor of pogroms in Eastern
Europe, was determined that her four brothers, all of whom attended
Upper Canada College, and she, all receive worldly educations
beyond their specific Jewish community. She always admired her
father for this farsightedness in encouraging his children to
become part of a broader society.
At the University of Toronto, she produced plays. She sang spirituals
on a Toronto radio station, but her parents would have none of
a show business career. She was packed off to Columbia University
in New York; but even that did not satisfy her rambunctious spirit
and soon she was on her way to distant Palestine.
Never domesticated as women of her day usually were, she paid
little attention to her kitchen pantry when she finally settled
in Ottawa; but always gregarious, she loved to entertain around
the piano which she played by ear and with great gusto. Her library
of records and Compact Disks, was always in use as music filled
her life; and she has endowed an important annual prize through
The Sylva Gelber Music Foundation, which is granted to an outstanding
young Canadian musician at the early stage of his or her career.
In retirement, she energetically participated in the Canadian
Institute of International Affairs and the Wednesday Luncheon
Club of former cabinet ministers and civil servants, such as
her neighbour, Jack
PICKERSGILL, who thrashed over current political
issues.
Sylva GELBER was predeceased by her four brothers, Lionel, Marvin,
Arthur and Shalome Michael. She is survived by her four nieces
and their husbands, Nance
GELBER and Dan
BJARNASON,
Patty and
David RUBIN,
Judith
GELBER and Dan
PRESLEY, and Sara and Richard
CHARNEY, all of Toronto; her sister-in-law, Marianne
GELBER of
New York; four great nephews and a great niece, Gerald and Noah
RUBIN, and Adam, Andrew and Laura
CHARNEY; as well as cousins
Ruth JEWEL and David
EISEN; David
ALEXANDOR, and Ruth
GELBER
all of Toronto; and Ivan
CHORNEY and Betsy
RIGAL, both of Ottawa.
At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue West
(1 light west of Dufferin) for service on Thursday, December
11, 2003 at 12: 00 noon. Interment Beth Tzedec Memorial Park.
G... Names GE... Names GEL... Names Welcome Home
GELBER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-12-18 published
Sylva Malka
GELBER
By Dan BJARNASON,
Thursday,
December 18, 2003 - Page A28
Pioneer; amateur blues singer; British sports-car zealot. Born
December 4, 1910, in Toronto. Died December 9 in Ottawa, of complications
from a stroke, aged 93.
She'd wheel around Ottawa in her Jaguar, driving by ear, oblivious
to her terrified passengers (me, for instance) as the scenery
in sedate Rockcliffe Park whipped by in a blur.
Sylva GELBER lived her whole life on the other side of the speed
limit. And it was fun to be with her for even part of the ride.
She was a pioneer from the same mould as those who settled the
Canadian Prairies.
She was on the ramparts in the battles for women's' rights at
a time when no one had much of a roadmap.
She was an architect of what became our hospital system.
She was exhausting to keep up with.
Sylva grew up in a stodgy Toronto of the 1920s, went to a private
girls school and could have settled into a comfortable life --
and we'd have never heard of her. But she dropped out of the
University of Toronto through sheer boredom, tried her hand at
Yiddish theatre, and sang blues and spirituals on the radio.
None of this took. So, at 22, in 1932, she went off to Palestine
where Jewish pioneers there were struggling to build a new society.
Sylva wanted to be part of it.
She intended to stay one year, but stayed for 15. Sylva worked
as a family counsellor, probation officer, and social worker.
She knew the giants on the scene: Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, David
Ben Gurion. During the Second World War, she listened to the
British Broadcasting Corporation night after night as Rommel's
Afrika Corps plunged forward. Rommel was stopped on the doorstep
of Alexandria, but it was a close-run thing. Sylva, decades later,
chronicled these times in her thrilling memoir, No Balm In Gilead:
A Personal Retrospective of Mandate Days in Palestine.
Deeply committed to a Jewish presence in this ancient land, she
also was immensely fond of the Palestinian Arabs, their language,
history and culture. It broke her heart that in the late 1940s,
the two peoples slid into war. She left on the eve of Israeli
independence, with bullets whistling around her ears, taken to
the airport in a wild dash in a taxi -- driven by a sympathetic
Christian Arab.
Back in Canada, she entered the civil service in Ottawa with
the departments of health and labour and helped to craft this
nation's first hospitalization program. She became the first
head of the women's bureau in the Department of Labour. She saw
women's equality as a simple uncomplicated issue of fairness
and decency. She wasn't shrill. She didn't harangue. And she
was hard as nails.
She represented Canada at a string of United Nations conferences.
She established an endowment for young Canadian musicians, many
of whom went on to great prominence. She was a member of the
Order of Canada. The impatient young kid who never graduated,
ended up with honorary degrees from a half-dozen universities.
She loved her fast cars and drove them with total disregard for
the laws of physics. And she was utterly unreasonable about the
colour red: red (scarlet, really) lipstick, red nail polish,
red scarves. If she had been an American, Hollywood would have
made her into a movie.
She set up an elaborate recording system at home and taped herself
belting out innumerable Broadway songs just for the fun of it.
Sylva never got the Ethel Merman completely out of her system.
In early December, my wife and I had planned to see the wacky
musical, The Producers, when it opened in Toronto. But then Sylva
died. We were to see the show on a Wednesday night; her funeral
would be the next morning. What to do? We went to The Producers
anyway. We sensed Sylva was there, roaring away with the rest
of us.
Dan BJARNASON is Silva's nephew-in-law.
G... Names GE... Names GEL... Names Welcome Home
GELBER - All Categories in OGSPI
GELFANT o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-10-29 published
FOGELL,
David 1923-2003
Born December 22, 1923 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died October 27,
2003 at home with his family in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He was predeceased by his parents Melach and Surka, brother,
Ben and sisters Dora and Netty. Dave is mourned by his wife,
Estelle, children, Melanie and her husband Ken
GOLDSTEIN,
Wayne
and Mark. He will be greatly missed by his grandchildren Carie
and her husband Stuart, Daniel, Sarah, Kylie; Sammy, Benji and
their mother Dorothy
ULLMAN as well as great-grand_son, Kade.
He will never be forgotten by his many relatives and Friends.
Dave was an incredibly charismatic and an intensely joyful human
being. He felt deeply and loved unquestioningly. Those who were
fortunate enough to be part of his life will be forever enriched
by having known him. Dave approached everything in his life with
meticulous attention. He had very humble beginnings yet he always
remembered those who helped him throughout his life. He had a
rare passion for living extending to everything and everyone.
His seemingly endless energy led to numerous accomplishments
and successes. He will be remembered most for his ability to
make those around him feel loved. The funeral is Wednesday, October
29, 2003 at the Beth Israel Cemetary, 1721 Willingdon, Burnaby,
at 12 noon. The pallbearers are Sammy and Benji
FOGELL,
Daniel
GOLDSTEIN, Lanny
GOULD, Howard
DINER and Joel
ALTMAN. Honourary
pallbearers are Zivey
FELDMAN and Harry
GELFANT.
The family would
like to thank caregivers Denyse
TREPANIER and Bryan
WALKER as
well as Dr. Larry
COLLINS and Dr. Victoria
BERNSTEIN. If desired,
donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Fund or the Jewish
Family Service Agency.
G... Names GE... Names GEL... Names Welcome Home
GELFANT - All Categories in OGSPI
GELLER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-04 published
WELCH,
Dr.
Robert
Hamilton
Died peacefully, at home in Toronto, on Tuesday, July 1, 2003,
in his 90th year. Beloved husband of Jane (Penny) Simpson (née
COYNE.)
Devoted father of Thomas Gordon (Anne
LAMBERT,) James
Coyne (Hélène
QUESNEL), Sarah Jane (Edward
GELLER) and Margo
Hamilton. Adored grandfather of Emily, Jackson, Brennen, Julia
and Philippe. Predeceased by his brothers Albert Gordon and Thomas
Alan.
Bob WELCH was born in Toronto, educated at University of Toronto
Schools and U of T, and served his country as Surgeon-Lieutenant
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in World War 2. He was
in family practice and associated with St. Michael's Hospital
for nearly 50 years. He was a great diagnostician who practiced
the art of medicine with compassion for both patients and their
families. A famous raconteur with a gentle sense of humour, he
was also an avid reader who was engaged with life until the end.
While he lived and worked in Toronto, he cherished his summers
in Prince Edward Island from the 1950's on. Greatly loved and
deeply missed.
The family will receive Friends at the Humphrey Funeral Home
- A. W. Miles Chapel, 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Eglinton
Avenue East), from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, July 3rd. Private service
in Toronto and interment at Fortune, Prince Edward Island In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Michael's Hospital,
30 Bond Street, Toronto M5B 1W8 or Bay Fortune United Church
Cemetery Fund, c/o John Aitken, Souris, Prince Edward Island
C1A 1B0.
G... Names GE... Names GEL... Names Welcome Home
GELLER - All Categories in OGSPI
GELLMAN o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-05-10 published
Programmer was a 'people person'
Computer consultant advised clients not only on technology, but
on the psychology that made the technology work for the company
Harvey GELLMAN was the first person in Canada to get a PhD based
in computer studies.
By Marina STRAUSS
Saturday,
May 10, 2003 - Page F11
He broke new ground in the computer field long before most Canadians
even knew what a software program was, or that computers would
so profoundly change their way of communicating and doing business.
Known as the dean of computer consulting, Harvey
GELLMAN had
a hand in purchasing the first computer in this country in 1952
he ran one of the first software programs and was the first to
get a PhD based on computer studies. Last month, Dr.
GELLMAN
died suddenly in Florida at the age of 78.
He made his name as a consultant who advised clients not only
on technology, but on the psychology that made the technology
work for a company -- with a knack for matching people's skills
to the job at hand, colleagues say.
Most important, Dr.
GELLMAN put the clients first, always looking
out for their best interests rather than simply the consultant's
bottom line, says Jim
HAYWARD, his partner at Toronto-based Gellman
Hayward and Partners for 18 years until it was sold to Montreal-based
CGI
Group in 1992.
What particularly distinguished Dr.
GELLMAN as a consultant was
his departure from others in refusing just to analyze a problem
and deliver a report to the client, Mr.
HAYWARD says.
Instead, Dr.
GELLMAN would find out exactly how far the client
was ready to go in implementing any change recommended in a report
and then guide the client through the change process.
This fundamental shift took root in the mid-1970s, when Dr.
GELLMAN
became frustrated that too many consultants simply handed over
a report and then walked away from the problem, Mr.
HAYWARD says.
"The trick is to work beside the client and walk with them, but
don't take the problem away from them, " he says. "It's like
therapy."
Together, they applied this form of business therapy at Gellman
Hayward, which grew from four partners to about 100 employees
before it was sold, boasting a client list that read like a Who's
Who of corporate Canada.
Indeed, the firm at one time or another advised all the big banks,
Bell Canada, Imperial Oil, Labatt Breweries, Eaton's, Hudson's
Bay, Spar Aerospace, TransCanada PipeLines, Noranda, Falconbridge,
Inco, Atomic Energy of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
"It was all the big names, says
CGI president Serge
GODIN,
who worked closely with Dr.
GELLMAN after the 1992 acquisition
and credits him with helping to manage its huge surge in staff
mostly through acquisitions -- by integrating and streamlining
the various systems.
"Harvey GELLMAN is a brand name, Mr.
GODIN says. "He was quite
something, very strong, brilliant -- with a big heart."
He was a man of few words, with a deep-seated respect for and
interest in people, colleagues and family.
"He would say, 'The janitor and the president are the same, '
recalls Paul
GELLMAN, the younger of his two sons, who also
is a computer consultant. "He believed it and he lived it."
From the security officers at Dr.
GELLMAN's apartment building
in Florida, where he lived half the year in his retirement, to
the secretary in his doctor's office -- all were touched by him
and upset by his death, Paul says.
Born in 1924, Dr.
GELLMAN was the middle of five children of
Polish parents who immigrated to Toronto in 1928. His youngest
brother Albert says nobody in the household ever quarrelled:
a calm reigned in the family and reverberated in the future computer
guru.
Still, Dr.
GELLMAN's life threatened to take an entirely different
course early on, when he dropped out of high school to work in
an electrical manufacturing plant and help the family make ends
meet.
The factory had an electrical test set that only Dr.
GELLMAN
was able to figure out, Mr.
HAYWARD says. The budding tech whiz
realized that he wasn't so dumb, went back to school -- and the
rest is history.
He attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a bachelor's
degree in mathematics and physics in 1947. The following year,
the university's newly established Computation Centre, headed
by Professor Calvin (Kelly)
GOTLIEB, invited him to join and
study electro-mechanical devices.
Dr. GELLMAN subsequently was involved in purchasing a huge Ferranti
computer from England for $250,000. It was the first computer
bought in Canada, sponsored in part by one of the centre's clients
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
"The machine would fail every five minutes, Dr.
GELLMAN was
quoted as saying years later when he was inducted in the industry-sponsored
Canadian Information Productivity Awards hall of fame. "We would
sit at the monitor and watch the diagonal array of dots, and
when a dot dropped, we would stop the machine, reset it and carry
on."
He wrote a small program on punch paper tape to help users print
efficiently from the computer, one of the first software programs
to be run in Canada, and soon he produced the first printout
for a computational problem, according to information supplied
to Canadian Information Productivity Awards.
In 1951, he obtained his PhD in applied mathematics, the first
doctorate in Canada for which the theoretical calculations depended
on a computer.
That same year, he became head of computing at Atomic Energy
of Canada Ltd. and, by 1955, he founded H. S. Gellman and Co.
Ltd. in Toronto to advise the growing number of companies seeking
his help.
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. was his first client and remained
one throughout his consulting career.
"He was doing a lot of pioneering work on operating systems,
and operating systems that deal with controlling nuclear-power
plants, says Bob
BANTING, manager of information technology
security at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. "He understood the programming
and the technical stuff, but he also knew how to manage people....
He was very good at assessing skills."
He hired top talent, sizing up job candidates in minutes, and
was able to move seamlesslessly from being a good programmer
to a good "people person, Mr.
BANTING says.
Dr. GELLMAN's early work was computing based on mathematical
equations, but the firm quickly moved into what became known
as information technology.
His busy consulting firm was swallowed in 1964 by a subsidiary
of de Havilland and subsequently by
AGT
Data
Systems before he
left with Mr.
HAYWARD to form Gellman Hayward.
But by the early 1990s, the firm was "stuck" and started to seek
a buyer, Mr.
HAYWARD says. "We didn't know how to get to the
next level."
When CGI acquired it in 1992, Dr.
GELLMAN stayed on as a senior
vice-president until he retired six years later.
In 1997, he co-wrote Riding the Tiger, a book that helps business
managers use information technology effectively. He was often
quoted in the media on managing information systems, and wrote
articles on the topic for The Globe and Mail.
In addition, he received many honours during his career, including
being named International Systems Man of the Year in 1967. He
was a founding member of the Canadian Information Processing
Society, among other professional bodies.
In his personal life, he was a private man and a steadfast father
and grandfather nine times over. He was devoted to Lily, his
wife of 57 years. They were teenage sweethearts, best of Friends
and "a model of how we all should live, " says his son Paul.
When Paul's older brother, Steven, decided to pursue a career
as a composer and musician, Dr.
GELLMAN had some reservations,
aware of the risks of such an unconventional and insecure profession.
"Before I left home to study at Juilliard, he said to me, 'I
understand you wanting to become a musician. Become the best
musician you can be; but I am concerned that you don't become
just a musician, ' " Steven says.
"Dad was reminding me to become a full human being, to develop
many facets of my life, just as he did."
Dr. GELLMAN and his wife spent a lot of time in Israel, where
they had family. In the mid-1970s, he took a six-month sabbatical
from work for an extended stay.
He was also part of a small discussion group called the Senge
Circle, started more than a decade ago among business colleagues
to discuss Peter Senge's management book, The Fifth Discipline.
It evolved into regular breakfast meetings to chew over different
business tomes.
The last meeting was in October before he went to Florida when
the group delved into the Peter
DRUCKER classic, The Practice
of Management. Dr.
GELLMAN was struck by how relevant the book
was almost 50 years after he first read it.
Dr. GELLMAN, who died on April 23, leaves his wife
Lily, sons
Steven and Paul, and siblings Dorothy, Albert and Esther.
G... Names GE... Names GEL... Names Welcome Home
GELLMAN - All Categories in OGSPI