Fay BLOSTEIN

1927 - 2022

FAY BLOSTEIN 1927 - 2022 After a long illness, Fay passed away peacefully on January 24, 2022 in her ninety-fifth year. Beloved daughter of the late Anna and Hayim Blostein, one of a long line of teachers. Dear sister of Harriet Law and David Blostein, and sister-in-law of Kerry Dean and the late Charles Law. Devoted aunt of Jules (Wendy), Howard (Henny), Sarah and Michael-David, and great-aunt to Matthew, Leah and Simone. The Blostein children grew up largely in Transcona, Manitoba, where Fay as the eldest sibling used a door in the family home as a blackboard to teach her younger siblings to read, and subjected her younger sister to endless games of Let's Play Library, while she herself read and read. The stage for her future life was set. After graduating from the University of Manitoba, Fay completed the short course at normal school and accepted her first position as a high-school teacher in Bowsman, Manitoba. By now she had reached her maximum height of four feet, eleven and a half inches but the way she cowed the six-foot boys in her classes led her first school principal to dub her "Little Napoleon." At first in Manitoba, then in Ontario, Fay taught literature and other subjects, acted in and directed several plays and at some point became a librarian - not the cliché guard-dog but a teacher-librarian. She became a specialist in the then-underappreciated genre of young adult fiction, writing three books on the subject, and maintained that she never met a kid she couldn't turn on to reading. Later, as a professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Education, she taught her imaginative ideas on school librarianship to future teachers. It is impossible to describe adequately the effect of Fay's colourful personality on the literally thousands of students, teachers, librarians and theatre people she taught, directed or worked with over her lifetime. Many have said she was the role model that inspired their own teaching and directing careers. In recognition of her lifetime achievement, in 1989 the Ontario Library Association bestowed on her the Distinguished Service Award, its highest honour. In early retirement, Fay's life was a feast of travel and antiquing, concerts, films (including the annual TIFF festival) and Blue Jays games, where she revelled in the hot dogs and ice cream as much as in the game itself. But she also spent many hours visiting and advocating for her widowed mother. Fay never married or had children of her own, but she doted on her nephews and niece, encouraging them in all of their activities, indulging them extravagantly at every turn, delighting them with her irreverent sense of humour and earning their gratitude with her fierce loyalty. A family graveside service was held on January 28, 2022. The family would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Fay's longtime personal companion Kelly Vollering, as well as to Baycrest's Dr. Amy Freedman, along with Dolma, Agnes, Julia and all of the kind and caring staff at the Apotex long-term care centre. If desired, memorial donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders www.doctorswithoutborders.ca, Interval House www.intervalhouse.ca, or People For Education www.peopleforeducation.ca Thoughts, memories or condolences may be shared in the Online Memorial Book at www.benjaminsparkmemorialchapel.ca