Gertrude Kerbel
Matriarch. Businesswoman. Advice giver. Social-media aficionada. Born Jan. 26, 1923, in Montreal; died June 21, 2017, in Toronto; of natural causes; aged 94.
Born in Montreal, Gertrude's Yiddish name was Gittel, which means good. It was an apt name because she did not have a mean bone in her body. Growing up in the Depression, she learned charity, compassion and social justice. The anti-Semitism she experienced made her a proud Jew and supporter of Israel and instilled in her a lifelong antipathy to prejudice.
During the war years, she learned another lesson about gender discrimination that she never forgot. Her father paid her less for the same work her brother performed before going overseas. She never forgot the indignity.
In 1946, she married the love of her life, Maurice, and they had three children and 64 happy years together. She was a grandmother and great-grandmother many times over. Gert taught her family the need to treat everyone equally. She'd experienced unfairness and prejudice in her own life and genuinely wanted to help others. She was so passionate that she would, to her children's irritation, volunteer their services without asking.
In the 1970s, Gert returned to the work force and became a real estate agent. The job brought together her best traits – integrity, tenaciousness, a great business head, practicality, gregariousness, fairness, toughness and caring. Gert was a top producer and mentor for close to 30 years.
Growing up, our home was a focal point for many family gatherings and an oasis for visitors. There was always a comfortable bed, a hot meal and words of encouragement. She was never happier than when she was with family; over time she became the institutional memory of the family history.
Upon retirement, Gert turned to social media with the enthusiasm of a teenager. As with the rest of her life, she swam ahead of the current. How many people her age had 100 friends on Facebook, many of whom were a third of her age? In her later years, her iPad accompanied her wherever she went. After saying hello to hotel or hospital staff, her next remark was "what's the WiFi password?" But while she adopted to new technology, she retained old values and preferred to keep in touch with friends and family by phone and in person.
Gert was an incurable optimist and forever young. Her mantra was "there is no such word as can't." Just this past January, she renewed her passport. We didn't ask if she chose the 10-year option.
She died on the longest day of the year, which is symbolic for it will always remind of us her long and productive life. The family was touched when so many people contacted us to share stories about how she had affected their lives and inspired them. Gert left life as she started it, with a good name made even better by her deeds.
Jeff Kerbel, Bonnie Einav and Donna Weinerman are Gert's children.
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