SAMUEL MORRIS ROSS

SAMUEL MORRIS ROSS, PhmB Passed away in Toronto on April 30, 2015. Graveside service Sunday, May 3rd, 10 a.m. at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, 986 Wilson Ave., Jewish War Veterans section. Sadly missed and survived by Zena, his dear wife of 69 years. Cherished father of Stewart Ross, Michael Ross and Lynda Frappier, dear father-in-law of Brenda Hodson and loving Grandpa to Lyle, Lauren and Ethan Frappier. He will be missed by family and friends in Canada, England and the USA. Special thanks to Violeta Sarceda and Elvira Gamiao for their years of caring for dad. Donations may be made to Sunnybrook Foundation Veterans L - Wing, 416-480-4483. Born to Avraham and Sarah Rosenblatt in September 1922, Sam, along with sisters Muriel and Rose, was raised on Clinton Street in Toronto. Sam graduated from Harbord Collegiate and immediately enlisted in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, Signal Platoon. He fought in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany and was injured twice, returning to action with his original unit both times. He returned to Canada with his beloved English war bride. Sam graduated in Pharmacy at the University of Toronto in 1954, became a pharmacist and worked in the profession for over 30 years. His was an exemplary life of volunteerism. He and Zena made two trips, in their 70s, to Israel to work on Kibbutzim. He was a longstanding member of the Rho Pi Phi Fraternity, Rokeah Chapter, the Beth Tikvah Congregation and B'nai B'rith. Later in life, dad joined the Royal Canadian Legion, General Wingate Branch and sold poppies until he was 89 years old. He participated in the Memory Project, in which veterans talk about their war experiences to public school and ESL students. He helped to publish and disseminate the Canadian Jewish War Memorial Book of Remembrance, which memorializes the 422 Canadian Jewish soldiers who died in the wars of this century and now sits in public libraries and Jewish archives across Canada. He returned to Holland, with Zena, to take part in the 45th and 50th anniversaries of the Liberation of Holland. Sam and Zena helped to establish Jewish services at the interfaith chapel of the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre. They also volunteered for many other organizations, including Baycrest, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Leukemia Research Foundation. A humble gentleman, Sam was a devoted family man, invariably a champion of the underdog, a staunch patriot for Canada and Israel and a passionate Leafs fan. He will be missed by those he loved and by those who loved him.