| Obituary |
On Friday, November 27, 2020. Beloved wife of Shalom Lahmy. Patient mom of Edith, Richard, Patrick and the late Roselyne Lahmy. Sweet grandma of Maya, Meyer, Marc and Pamela, Jenny, Jason and Jeremiah, and great-grandma of Olivia, Frida, Ravleen, Varleen, Sophia, Ezra and Simon.
Mom was 20 when the Second World War ended. She was one of ten siblings living in a small town in northern Tunisia. Her father a prosperous contractor had a hardware store. It was a struggle being a young woman in a chauvinistic society.
She met my dad when he arrived as a refugee from occupied France. He was broke living on the good will of family and friends and was allowed to stay awhile in her father's house. He had the nerve to ask for her hand in marriage and was promptly refused by her father. He packed his stuff and left dejected and in a scene worthy of Hollywood she ran after him, found him at the train station and brought him back. Her first act of rebellion.
My mom always wanted to be a nurse and had volunteered at the local hospital taking care of wounded soldiers both German and allied. She continued with her training as well as taking care of her three kids. But then the mid fifties with their independence movements in North Africa made it difficult for Jews to remain in Tunisia. They offered us a trip to Canada all expenses paid.
And so began a different life. My parents were told to get a job any job, my mom's dreams to become a nurse fell to the side and she became a seamstress in the clothing factories Montréal for the next twenty years until her retirement.
She was gifted with a sharp intelligence combined with a strong empathy.
Her kindness manifested itself in small gestures like when a delivery boy came to the door his hands gloveless and red in the freezing weather she gave the grateful kid a pair of gloves.
She was strong with a fierce will to live. |
