Stanley Ross SHENKMAN

1928 - 2022

STANLEY ROSS SHENKMAN Retired architect was born December 22, 1928 and passed away peacefully on December 16, 2022. He is survived by his beloved wife Donna (nee Franklin) with whom he celebrated a 71st Wedding Anniversary on October 14th; their son, James Shenkman and his wife Denise; grandsons, Michael and his wife Fleming; Daniel and his wife Michelle; Andrew and his wife Pamela; Benjamin and wife Kimberley; and great-grandchildren, Izzy, Wolf, Thea, Anderson, Samantha, William and Sacha. He was predeceased by his daughter, Susan Robinson and his brother, Robert Amdursky. He was the beloved brother of Joy Perlow and brother- in-law of Randy Franklin and Audrey Amdursky. Stanley was the proud patriarch of the Shenkman and Ross families and had close relationships with his many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Stanley was the son of the late Sonya Ross Amdursky and the late Samuel Shenkman. He graduated from Worcester Academy, Worcester, Mass. in 1945 and from Syracuse University School of Architecture in 1951. For over fifty years, he practiced architecture in Montreal and Toronto, designing homes and hotels. One of his better-known projects involved the purchase of the Timmins mansion atop Westmount, Quebec, which he divided into two homes, that became a point of interest for tour buses. He and his family moved to Toronto in 1966. In addition to his professional career, Stanley developed real estate properties, including a large apartment building in Parc Lafontaine in Montreal, and a large hotel and office building complex in Windsor, Ontario. A true entrepreneur, he established one of the first privately-owned television stations (CJSS-TV) to be licensed by the CRTC in Canada in the early 1960s. In 1962, he ran unsuccessfully for Parliament in Mount Royal riding, in Montreal, as a Conservative Party candidate. He owned and published the Canadian Jewish Chronicle Review, serving the Montreal and Toronto Jewish communities, which he eventually donated to the community-owned Canadian Jewish News. He founded the International Centre near Pearson Airport, which became one of the largest privately- owned, trade and consumer exhibition trade centres in North America. There, he established the first intermodal, Canada Customs Sufferance Warehouse, as well as a major bingo operation, benefiting numerous non-profit organizations. In the 1970s, he initiated a successful application to launch Swiftair, the first, national all-cargo airline, offering service on DC8 freighters across Canada. He also owned the Capri Hotel on Decarie Boulevard, in Montreal. Another broadcasting investment was in WTTV-TV, an independent television station near Indianapolis, Indiana. One of his fondest activities was cruising in the Mediterranean and Caribbean on the Enchantress IV, a boat that he and his wife, Donna, helped design and build. He will be remembered for his charitable support and his civic pride in Canada and Greater Toronto. He will be missed. At Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Avenue West (3 lights west of Dufferin) for service on Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. Interment Beth Tzedec Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care c/o Sinai Health Foundation, 416-586-8203.