| Obituary |
Surrounded by his family, on Friday, May 10, 2024. Beloved and devoted husband of Dr. Maxine Sigman z”l for sixty years. Cherished father and father-in-law of Dr. Eric Sigman and Sophie Dussault and the late Claire Bourque, Dr. Terry Sigman and Mitchell Zlotnik, Dr. Karen Sigman and Eric Laxer. Loving and inspirational Grandpa of Benjamin Sigman; Jonathan, Noah and Eytan Zlotnik; Joshua, Robbie, Jacob and Max Laxer. Son of the late Carl and the late Jean Sigman. Brother and brother-in-law of Sandra and the late Gerald Sigman and the late Joan Strean and the late Lester Lazarus. He will be sadly missed by his nieces and nephews, Linda, Richard, and Robert Solomon; Andrew, Amy, and Lisa Sigman, and their families. Harvey was loved and respected by his incredible friends, colleagues, students, and by all those whose lives he touched. He began his surgical career at the Jewish General Hospital where he became chief of the Division of General Surgery as well as the Director of Surgical Education. A significant achievement was introducing laparoscopic surgery to the hospital as well as the Montreal Children’s Hospital. At McGill University he was Assistant Dean of Medical Education and Student Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine. Teaching was his passion until the day he died. He received the McGill University Department of Surgery Residents’ Award for Excellence in Teaching and was named to the Faculty Honor List for Educational Excellence in Teaching in its inaugural year. He was so proud of the Harvey Sigman Lectureship in Surgical Education that was created in his honor. He was also a dedicated community volunteer. He served as a President of the Jewish Cultural Association, Jewish Support Services for the Elderly and of AJCS (now Federation CJA). In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Montreal Jewish Community and the State of Israel, he was awarded its highest honor, the Samuel Bronfman Medal (1991). He was also a recipient of the Governor General’s Medal. Outside of his professional and community interests, his passions lay in traveling, athletics and the arts. Harvey was an avid golfer, loved tennis and spent many ski holidays with his family and friends in Western Canada and the USA. He loved learning new languages and listening to operas. Yet it was his weekends at the cottage in Lac Marois that gave him some of his greatest pleasure: cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, enjoying the lake, gardening and fishing with his grandchildren in the summer and taking them out for breakfast. Harvey was very grateful for the care he received from the staff at the Segal Cancer Center and Mount Sinai. A special thank you to Drs. Christiano Ferrario and Suzanne Levitz. Funeral service from Paperman & Sons, 3888 Jean Talon St. W., on Sunday, May 12 at 12:00 p.m. Burial at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Cemetery, 1250 ch. de la Forêt. Shiva at his daughter Karen’s home. Contributions in his memory may be made to the “Maxine and Harvey Sigman Fund” c/o the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, (514) 340-8251 or c/o the Jewish Community Foundation, (514) 345-6414. |
