LOTEM o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2003-07-03 published
Stanley GOLVIN
By Philip MASS,
Thursday,
July 3, 2003 - Page A26
Businessman, husband, father, and grandfather. Born August 22,
1918, in Kielce, Poland. Died May 5, in Toronto, of an apparent
heart attack, aged 84.
Stanley GOLVIN was a man who had a strong impact on others: individuals
who literally owe their lives and their livelihoods to him; countless
Friends, colleagues, and employees to whom Stanley was a mentor
and a benefactor.
Not that Stanley was always an easy guy to be with. He was complicated
and a man of many contradictions. He was exacting in his expectations
of himself and others. Even so, he commanded unqualified loyalty,
affection, and respect from even those of whom he was most relentlessly
demanding. On the whole, we will remember Stanley fondly for
his penchant for ideas and for his unwavering qualities of generosity,
loyalty, courage, and just plain smarts.
Stanley's life was marked forever by the devastation that the
Holocaust brought to what had been a rather commonplace life
in Poland. Stanley spent most of the war in the Auschwitz concentration
camp. Stanley managed to survive years in the camp even as he
put his life in jeopardy time and again to bring food to other
starving inmates and to help fellow prisoners escape. Astonishingly,
he then managed to escape himself. This period in Stanley's life
was not one that he could put behind him easily, nor did he wish
to; he did his part in memorializing the Holocaust in several
ways, including a video testimony as part of Steven Spielberg's
Shoah initiative.
Stanley emerged from the war, like so many others, without a
country, without a home, without an intact family, and without
material resources. He did, however, come away with one thing
of incalculable value: a worldwide network of devoted Friends
with whom he shared a common experience that only he and they
could truly comprehend.
Not long after the war, Stanley came to New York, determined
to achieve personal security. In New York he met Sharon
GREEN
who soon became Sharon
GOLVIN.
They set roots in Sharon's home
city of Toronto and Stanley, with a partner, opened a furniture
store. The business flourished and developed into an impressive
chain of outlets. Still restless, Stanley then set out to build
the real estate business: that was his passion and is his legacy
to his children.
Meanwhile Stanley's family flourished as well, with the birth
of Stuart and Ilene and the eventual establishment of their own
families. Then, in 1992, came the second tragedy of Stanley's
life: the passing of Sharon. And yet, for a second time in his
life, out of devastation came rebirth. Ella
LOTEM, who Stanley
had first romanced in Poland some 45 years earlier, moved to
Toronto from Israel to marry him. A softer and mellower Stanley
started to allow himself to sit back and enjoy some of life's
pleasures, particularly his five grandchildren who adored him.
Stanley shared with me recently that he never could have believed
that he would live so long. He was truly amazed by his long and
fruitful life, grateful for the "mazal" that had been his companion,
and I believe he was now resigned that his time had come. As
Stanley would say, "I'm on overtime now."
When Stanley's four-year-old grand_son Benn was told that his
Zaidy had died, Benn responded uncertainly, "But he'll be alive
again, right?" Intent on having Benn understand the situation,
we lost sight of the wisdom in his magical thinking. Indeed Zaidy
will be alive again in a very real sense as Stanley's memory
and his spirit remain alive and continue to guide us for ward.
But before we could affirm this notion with Benn, he uttered
simply, and in a soft voice, "But I love Zaidy." As we all do.
Philip MASS is Stanley
GOLVIN's son-in-law.
L... Names LO... Names LOT... Names Welcome Home
LOTEM - All Categories in OGSPI